Private exoskeletons have been all over the place at CES 2026. There have been formidable designs from newcomers WiRobotics, Sumbu, Ascentiz, and Dephy, whereas Skip Mo/Go was again selling its long-overdue tech trousers. Dnsys (pronounced Deen-sis), a relatively properly established identify, had some new launches to tease, Hypershell was again with its high mannequin, and Ascentiz had us sprinting across the show floor.
An exoskeleton is a comparatively new class of wearable system designed to reinforce, assist, or help human motion, energy, posture, and even bodily exercise. The primary piece goes round your waist like a belt, and from it, a pair of hinged, mechanized splints lengthen down over the hips to strap onto every thigh, the place they supply some robotic help to regular actions like strolling, operating, or squatting.
As soon as solely utilized in medical rehabilitation and in manufacturing unit settings, exoskeletons at the moment are being offered as mainstream client gadgets. It’s a quickly rising market, too, with reports suggesting development from greater than half a billion {dollars} in 2025 to greater than $2 billion by 2030.
As of at the moment, solely Hypershell and Dnsys (each Chinese language firms based in 2021) have client exoskeletons you should purchase. And, as promised, after we first reviewed the pre-launch prototype of the Dnsys X1 (5/10, WIRED Review), as quickly as we may, we’d race them. So, with the launch of the Hypershell X Ultra, that day has lastly arrived.
By means of a collection of “athletic” pursuits at London’s Lea Valley Athletics Center, we went head-to-head with the $1,999 Hypershell X Ultra and the $1,899 Dnsys X1 Carbon Pro. Each are flagship merchandise, each are commercially accessible, and each triggered folks to cease and stare, though that would have simply been our astounding athleticism.
A Leg Up
Dnsys and Hypershell spend lots of advertising finances selling the bodily advantages of their exoskeletons. Hypershell, as an example, claims its gadgets can result in a 42 p.c decrease coronary heart price, 20 p.c much less exertion when strolling, and a 63 p.c enhance in hip flexor endurance. Dnsys suggests carrying their gadgets will “lower energy demand by as much as 50 p.c.”
As we found with testing the Hypershell Pro X (6/10, WIRED Review), corroborating or refuting these claims is tough at finest, particularly when the tech (and human) doesn’t all the time play alongside. Regardless of monitoring coronary heart price, tempo, and distance utilizing a smartwatch, a few of our efforts urged we used extra power with the exoskeleton than with out.
However there’s no denying that the exoskeletons work. They put a robotic spring in your step and positively propel you alongside. How a lot tangible profit you get from the help will tremendously rely on you as a person. Chris Haslam, considered one of WIRED’s crack product reviewers enlisted for this check, has a 76-year-old father with one titanium hip. Chris’s dad was ready to make use of an exoskeleton to climb a hill with out his standard breather on the midway level. Chris, nevertheless—a wholesome, energetic 48-year-old—discovered them extra of a hindrance than a assist.
Having two completely different exoskeletons allowed us to match efficiency and focus on perceived effort. Sure, among the dash races have been a bit tongue-in-cheek, however the extra time we spent carrying every system, the clearer image we bought as to what the exoskeleton is definitely doing and the way it felt whereas it’s doing it.
The Exams
Sluggish and Regular: We accomplished an unaided, exoskeleton-free baseline run of 400 meters earlier than repeating the identical exams in every exoskeleton. Tempo and distance have been saved the identical, so the distinction in exertion might be seen clearly by means of a drop in coronary heart price.
