China's exoskeleton makers move from niche to mainstream

A merchant tries on an exoskeleton robot at the Yiwu Global Digital Trade Center in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Photo/Lyu Bin)

China's exoskeleton companies are rapidly turning what was once the stuff of science fiction into products that deliver real value in daily life.

Founded in 2017 in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, startup RoboCT began with a focus on medical and rehabilitation exoskeletons and has since built a platform spanning core components, a multi-tiered product lineup and intelligent solutions.

Medical exoskeletons have to bear the full weight of the human body, coordinate movement across multiple joints, accommodate individual differences between patients, and do all of this without causing secondary injury, said Wang Tian, the company's founder.

"It's an exceptionally complex track — the research and development alone draws on expertise from more than 10 academic disciplines," Wang said.

From the very beginning, the company faced a daunting obstacle: there was simply no supply chain to speak of.

"Nobody wanted to supply parts for such a niche market," Wang recalled.

His response was direct: build everything in-house. From first-generation product design in 2017 to medical device registration approval from China's National Medical Products Administration in 2022, the team spent five years developing core components — including reducers and actuators — entirely in-house. This gave them end-to-end control over the design and production process. Meanwhile, they partnered with Zhejiang University and other universities to translate cutting-edge brain science research into next-generation product development.

Participants in Hunan's first exoskeleton hiking competition pose for a photo wearing Hypershell's hip-assist exoskeletons. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

"Collaboration among enterprises, universities and research institutions is what allows us to go further and build better products," Wang said.

RoboCT's exoskeleton robots are now deployed in over 1,000 medical institutions across China, having logged more than 910,000 patient sessions to date. The company has also helped draft industry standards for medical lower-limb exoskeleton robots, cementing its position as a leader in China's rehabilitation exoskeleton sector.

RoboCT continues to push boundaries in frontier technologies. Its latest rehabilitation exoskeleton incorporates brain-computer interfaces, implantable spinal nerve electrodes and electromyography-based motion sensing, allowing the device to detect users' intentions before they move for more responsive and effective rehabilitation. Backed by national major program funding, the product has completed preliminary trials, entered the clinical application stage and is now undergoing medical device registration.

"We firmly believe exoskeletons will become a new 'organ' for the human body. Wherever people go, exoskeletons will be there to assist them," Wang said.

Kelvin Sun, founder of Chinese exoskeleton startup Hypershell, believes these devices should not be confined to factories and hospitals. His company set out to answer one question: how to turn an industrial-grade exoskeleton into an affordable, wearable product that people actually want to use every day.

Targeting everyday use is a groundbreaking proposition, even by global standards. For Hypershell, the first challenge was reducing product weight.

To make the device light enough for daily use, Hypershell's engineers turned to advanced lightweight materials such as carbon fiber and titanium alloy, combining them with proprietary electric drive technology to bring the total weight down to under 2 kilograms.

The company's first-generation product attracted nearly 3,000 pre-orders.

"We were excited. We thought we'd just refine the design, scale up production, and deliver," Sun said.

However, reality hit hard. "When we actually tested it, we were stunned — it just didn't perform the way we'd envisioned," Sun recalled. "The device was limited in where it could be used, uncomfortable to wear, and far from the smooth user experience we had originally envisioned."

After a prolonged internal debate, the team made a difficult decision: cancel the first-generation pre-orders entirely and start over. The redesign took a full year and nearly tripled their costs.

"We made that decision under enormous pressure," Sun said. "But it was the right one."

Photo shows Hypershell's research and development facility. (Photo courtesy of the interviewee)

The second-generation product was rebuilt from scratch with user experience as the priority. Hypershell developed a proprietary AI Motion Engine algorithm and equipped the device with more than a dozen sensors tracking angle, speed and posture, capturing every subtle movement of the lower limbs in real time. Scene recognition, mode switching and seamless transitions are all handled automatically by the sensors and neural network, with no manual input required from the user.

The results speak for themselves. Once a high-cost product beyond the reach of most consumers, a Hypershell exoskeleton now retails at a price comparable to a mid-to-high-end smartphone. Having sold its exoskeletons in more than 70 countries and regions, Hypershell has established itself as a global benchmark in the sports exoskeleton segment.

Application scenarios continue to expand. Hypershell's products adapt to 12 different terrains, covering everything from daily commutes and hiking trails to high-altitude expeditions and emergency rescue operations. "Wherever people need to walk, it can lend a hand," Sun said.

Exoskeletons will grow lighter, more compact and more flexible, with power modules, energy sources and sensing systems deeply integrated into their structures, Sun said.