A Review of Commercially Available Exoskeletons' Capabilities

Medical exoskeletons are robotic devices that provide paraplegics with the ability to ambulate again. There are four current market leaders in the industry: REX, by Rex Bionics; ReWalk, by Argo Medical Technologies Ltd; Ekso GT, by Ekso Bionics; and Indego, by Parker Hannifin. A weighted table-based method was used to evaluate the capability of these four devices, which was then compared to their maximum speed. The Ekso GT and the ReWalk devices achieved high speeds but had low capability scores due to their instability and minimal safety features. The REX and Indego devices achieved the highest capability scores but for contrasting reasons; the REX devices are inherently stable but have a slow, static gait, while the Indego device relies on walking aids for stability and achieves a faster speed. Both devices scored high in the safety criteria. It was derived from the results that there is an indirectly proportional relationship between speed and stability, and none of the exoskeletons achieve a balance between the two. This study found that there is an opportunity to enhance the speed, mobility, stability, and cost of medical exoskeletons, which is presented below.