Is it possible that the next big thing in personal transport won’t be self-driving cars, electric scooters or shoes with wheels, but exoskeletons?
The last time you came across this word is very likely in GCSE biology, to describe the hard outer shell worn by beetles, scorpions, crabs, lobsters and earwigs.
Gadget exoskeletons, however, are a new branch of robotics designed to help us walk faster, longer and more powerfully uphill. Yes, like Wallace’s electronic kecks in the 1993 animated classic The Wrong Trousers.
A motorised harness straps around the waist, which is attached to paddles that pull up each thigh in succession to reduce the effort of walking and running. It doesn’t do the exercise for you, but promises to give you 10 to 40 per cent more power, depending on the setting, for the same effort. Designed and made in China (inevitably), exoskeletons are just starting to become available here. They could indeed be the next transport revolution. Or… maybe not.
I’ve been trying out one from the pioneer in the technology, Hypershell. Its exoskeletons range in price from £789 up to £1,599. Quite an investment, then, yet relatively modest compared to good-quality electric bikes.
So who is the target market? You might think older people who have difficulty walking, and you wouldn’t be wrong. But, interestingly, Hypershell seems keener on attracting athletes, runners, hikers and mountain bikers who want to go further, higher, longer and so on.
A Hypershell Exoskeleton in action
I’m 70 (although I don’t feel it) and would describe myself as moderately fit. I’ve been on two lengthy test walks in the top-of-the-range Hypershell X Ultra, the first in the hilly woods outside Berlin, the second on the steep paths up to and around Richmond, Surrey.
The motors mounted at each hip pull the paddles up gently but firmly, moving each thigh and adjusting for the kind of terrain you’re on (using the inevitable AI, plus a variety of sensors). It leaves your heart thumping, but your legs notably less tired. This means you get the same exercise but cover more ground.
The walk up Richmond Hill from the Thames is one I do regularly and leaves even fit younger people puffed. With the Hypershell, I felt like I had afterburners, or turbojets. I was powering past other people and feeling distinctly smug about it. But my Apple Watch still registered that I was getting a proper workout. It really is a ‘best of both worlds’ gadget.
The main thing you notice is that if it’s quiet around you, your walking sounds like – I mean exactly like – Wallace’s electric trousers.
And there’s no getting away from it; you do look a little odd to other people. I was stopped several times by ramblers curious to find out what the exoskeleton was. But when I explained, they were remarkably positive. Or possibly polite.
Wallace’s electronic kecks in the 1993 animated classic The Wrong Trousers
One American member of the Hypershell team, over from China to introduce technology journalists to the products, told the story of a marathon runner who used it in a race and took seven minutes off his personal best. Finishing in a decent but not spectacular position, the runner was surprised nevertheless to get a massive cheer from the crowd. His friends at the finishing line had to point out that he was being applauded because everyone thought he was disabled.
I thought I’d be glad to take off the contraption at the end of my walks, but after I did, my legs felt heavy as if I’d just arrived from Mars. A couple of rechargeable batteries last pretty much all day, however, making longer-term use an option.
So are exoskeletons the future? I’d say they’re extremely clever. Possibly too clever. They’re fiddly to put on until you get used to them – there’s a good case for doing the thing nobody ever does and reading the instructions. And, yes, inevitably, there’s a phone app to change the settings.
I don’t think exoskeleton shops are going to be as common as bike shops any time soon. But it will be interesting to see if they, ahem, walk off the shelves in coming years.