HyperShell X Outdoor PowerSuit Exoskeleton
59 comments
·March 7, 2025A_D_E_P_T
Toutouxc
> The motors assist you in raising your leg -- hip extension. That's all they do.
Raising your leg is hip flexion.
Also this device seems to help in both directions: (from their specs page, maybe an awkward translation)
> As demonstrated on the product page, the Hypershell simultaneously drives two sets of leg levers, creating smooth and natural movements in both directions.
> The system produces two forces: one to assist in lifting the leg and another to aid in pushing the leg forward.
A_D_E_P_T
> Raising your leg is hip flexion.
Oh, shoot, you're right. Thanks for the correction.
> The system produces two forces: one to assist in lifting the leg and another to aid in pushing the leg forward.
If that's the case, then this model must assist in hip flexion and extension -- helping you raise one leg as it gently pushes back on the other to drive you forward.
It would certainly lower the metabolic cost of walking, but I'm not sure of the magnitude of the effect.
swiftcoder
Does anyone make one that also helps with knee movement?
A_D_E_P_T
The Japanese company Cyberdyne makes several, e.g.:
> https://www.cyberdyne.jp/english/products/LowerLimb_medical....
But what Cyberdyne makes is, emphatically, not for hiking or for work. That one at the link is a very bulky, very slow, very expensive medical exoskeleton.
When it comes to commercially-available powered devices, the Chinese favor hip exoskeletons and, more rarely, upper-body industrial exoskeletons. Check these out:
> https://kenqingkeji.com/gongyewuliu.html
There are also passive (unpowered) systems that assist with grounding weight, and these necessarily extend all the way to the foot:
> https://kenqingkeji.com/product_details/19.html
Arcteryx and the US (ex-Google) company Skip are different -- they're working on models that appear to favor the knee rather than the hip. See:
> https://blog.arcteryx.com/news/arcteryx-and-skip-partner-to-...
I don't know if this is commercially available yet, though.
ethbr1
That was my first thought: if you're putting mechanically-assisted extra force on the thigh, then that's translating through the knee.
Which seems fine as long as you're operating within knee tolerances (for a given age), but seems dicey if boosted to superhuman levels.
chewmieser
There was another brand that went through Kickstarter recently:
I have one of their units. It definitely assists with hiking in the standard modes and the "aqua mode" on the device does increase resistance. As an able-bodied person who hikes for sport, I don't tend to use it much. Though I sometimes throw it on with aqua mode for some added resistance for smaller hikes.
dwighttk
How much different is aqua mode from a weighted vest?
androiddrew
I have one too. Yeah it was more of a curiosity purchase.
klaussilveira
Apalled at the lack of empathy around here. This is clearly a solution for people with affected mobility. Just imagine that one last hike with your grandfather.
flippyhead
Yeah I don't get it. People used to YELL the same things at me when I was an early adopter of e-mountain bikes (now they are everywhere). What people don't realize, I find, is you get the same amount of exercise but over much greater distances. On my e-bike I routinely travel 60 miles in a day -- that's just not possible for me without being a full-time professional biker or whatever. I would totally use something like this just to go farther for the same amount of effort (and safety, I'm 47 etc etc) but while hiking. It would be awesome!
Mizza
That's pretty cool, I didn't know this type of stuff was available to consumers. The reviews on their site seem really enthusiastic, lots of older folks and mobility-restricted folks seem extremely pleased with the product and post action videos. Can't wait to see where this technology goes by the time I need it.
instagraham
Perhaps, but FakeGuard flags the site for me for the following reasons:
-Poor rating from customers
- Multiple eCommerce scam experiences detected
- Poor customer service
sunrunner
I'm aware this isn't a full body suit but I can't help but remember the scene from Iron Man 2 where one of the alternate suits does a full 180 with an operator inside it.
ycombinatrix
"I'd like to point out that that pilot survived"
delichon
My use case would be closer to Baron Harkonnen's suspensors. There may be a greater market for exoskeletons for the disabled than for athletes. And far more insurance dollars to capture. And then there's the potential to create more disabled athletes. I live next to a designated wilderness area that you have to be quite fit to enjoy. I hope when mechanical suits become available the will be legal to use there, making these places accessible to more of us.
chrisweekly
Mixed feelings here about designated wilderness being trampled by heavy "cyborgs".
delichon
They'll likely do less trail damage than shod horses and donkeys.
comrade1234
17.5 km range. So five miles out and five miles back. So like a three hour hike. Anyone should be able to do that without a friction-burn- causing Roboleg attachment.
I guess if it meant I could bring my paraplegic neighbor hiking it would be cool.
spacedcowboy
I got one on the kickstarter, for my wife.
She was in a coma. Unlike the movies, you don't usually just "wake up" from a coma. She'll never recover, and she used to love to walk in the park rather than be wheeled around it. Now she can again.
It was worth it. To me and to her.
ycombinatrix
you should start a youtube channel to review exoskeletons
gloflo
I'd rather suggest they enjoy life instead.
schmichael
I don't think you have to be paraplegic to have a condition that prevents you from enjoying an invigorating hike. If this gets more people who aren't in perfect health out and exercising, what an incredible win.
torlok
How is a hike "invigorating", if you need mechanical assist to do it? You don't have to climb a mountain. You can have a walk in the local park.
schmichael
I need glasses to see and still find sight invigorating.
I love cycling. Even without electric assist I find using mechanical advantage invigorating.
No one is forcing an exoskeleton or ebike on you. Why can’t you be happy for the people whose mobility it improves? What have you lost by their gain?
malfist
Same way ebike cycling can be invigorating.
It lowers the barrier for entry, doesn't prevent effort
nkrisc
Because “invigorating” is relative to one’s own capabilities.
There is also quite a lot in between “climb a mountain” and a “walk in the local park”.
jml7c5
Though the battery is only 400g, so you could easily carry 3kg of spare batteries and extend that range significantly (at the expense of payload). You'd still come out way ahead.
bryanlarsen
It's supposed to allow you to carry 30kg more than you could without it. Not many people could carry somebody else for 10 miles, but a lot more could with 30kg of assistance.
mhitza
> 17.5 km range measured at 4 km/h in 30% Eco mode. Actual range may vary due to factors like temperature, altitude, and assistance level.
Probably a third of that at max power usage/support capacity.
wslh
It means this kind of technologies used to have sky-high prices because it was primarily used in the medical field. Now, as a consumer product, it's available for just $799.00, a huge shift in accessibility.
CyberMacGyver
Imagine being able to get a 10 mile farther than you could without the roboleg.
comrade1234
But then you’d have to carry it back.
solardev
Not if you used it to carry another one! It's just exoskeletons all the way down.
_rpxpx
Could be good to assist the disabled and elderly. Interested to see testing. Marketed like this as consumer product for enjoying nature, grotesque. So much wrong with garbage like this.
hbrav
Wait, I'm curious about why you think it's "grotesque"?
Do you think it's just not useful as a consumer product for enjoying nature, and that they're conning their potential customers?
Or are you thinking something more along the lines of "this application waste, these _should_ be used to assist the disabled and elderly"?
In the latter case, I think your reaction is misplaced. If a piece of technology is useful to a small segment of the population, it's beneficial to them if it also gets adopted as consumer technology. I claim this because the price of the devices should fall as more of them are manufactured (Wright's Law).
aetherspawn
Kinda cool but needs arm assist, most menial tasks fail due to tiring upper body strength.
For example, unloading trucks, carrying plaster boards etc. I would kill to have one of these (for arms) the last time I unloaded 50 acoustic plasterboards @ 60kg each in the last office reno.
The truck driver gave me a hand and yeah he was a bit tired but me, I was dead. My bones hurt.
Qworg
Festool sells an upper body exoskeleton for painters and sanders: https://www.festoolusa.com/products/exoskeleton/exoactive-ex...
analog31
Curious question, will it wear out your joints sooner?
keyle
You're only shifting the problem somewhere else!
Either your whole body gets capable of walking the distance, or you'll assist a part of it and wear out another part.
redeux
One of the models claims to have a max speed assist of 20 km/h, which I find hard to believe.
Some insight into how it works: This is what's called a "hip exoskeleton". The motors assist you in raising your leg -- hip extension. That's all they do.
The elderly are somewhat aided by this sort of thing, and it can help people hike over uphill slopes and flat land, but it's not magic -- and as it doesn't assist with knee extension, it's not much help if you plan on climbing lots of stairs.
These things have been popular in China for years, and HyperShell, which is headquartered in China and shares tech with DJI, is a slick Western-facing wrapper over those core designs.