2D representation of a hip-only and a knee-only hiking exoskeleton.
Since the very first Wearable Robotics Conference (WearRA) brought together the exoskeleton community in Arizona nearly a decade ago, everyone has had one question on their minds: When will sales of exoskeleton systems increase? Sales of wearables that physically support the human body have been steadily growing. Still, there has been an expectation that there would be an inflection point after which the number of systems sold yearly would noticeably increase. With the introduction of consumer exoskeletons on the international scene, that inflection point may be happening right now.
Consumer exoskeletons were initially focused on skiing, but a new generation of wearables with additional applications, like walking uphill and hiking, is starting to gain momentum. Companies like Hypershell, Dnsys, Skip, WIRobotics, and VIGX are taking a version of powered exoskeletons out of labs, medical and industrial centers, and putting them in the hands of outdoor enthusiasts (or those who could use the extra push to return to the outdoors).
Sales of consumer hiking-focused exoskeletons, and the online buzz around them, are already nearing the total number of units sold for medical, military, and industrial models over the past decade. Who are the people behind these new companies that are trying to make a change in human mobility? I had a chance to do a Q&A session with Dnsys founder and CEO, Sage Dong, and crowdfunding campaign manager Jojo Li:
Q: What was the inspiration behind the name Dnsys?
A: Dnsys is short for “Dynamic System,” a fundamental concept in control theory. We chose this name to reflect our deep expertise in robotics and system control, it symbolizes our commitment to building advanced, reliable exoskeletons based on solid theoretical foundations.
Q: Who do you see as the primary age demographic purchasing Dnsys products?
A: Unlike traditional exoskeletons designed for rehabilitation or walking replacement, Dnsys focuses on augmentation. Our target users are people who already have mobility but are looking to enhance their strength, speed, endurance, load-bearing capacity, or climbing ability. We’ve seen a surprisingly wide age range among our customers, from 25 to over 80 years old, though the majority currently fall into the 40+ age group.
Q: How do you prove safety and reliability? Do you use test dummies to do stress testing, outside labs, or perhaps other methods?
A: Dnsys originally developed medical-grade exoskeletons. Before the X1, our earlier model — the Dnsys-H1 hip exoskeleton — was created for clinical use… In terms of safety, our R&D team comes from Segway and DJI, with experience designing electromechanical products with annual sales in the hundreds of thousands of units. We also have deep expertise in designing medical-grade exoskeletons from scratch, making safety and reliability one of our greatest strengths.
… Before shipment, each exoskeleton undergoes hours of stress testing, including with test dummies equipped with motors and high-precision sensors.
Thanks to our medical background, we continue to apply the ISO13485 quality management system in our consumer products. This system ensures strict traceability from design to components and final assembly, guaranteeing that users receive safe and reliable products.
After the delivery of the hip exoskeleton X1, we received a lot of positive feedback. Many users indeed reported significant improvements in their walking speed and distance, and they shared their experiences on social media. We are thrilled to see that the product has truly helped users. In response to their demand, we have further developed and launched the knee exoskeleton Z1.
Q: How are you able to get the price so low when powered exoskeletons used to go on average for $30,000?
At Dnsys, we believe the key to lowering the cost lies in bold yet effective innovations in both business strategy and core technology.
Our earlier product, the H1 medical-grade hip exoskeleton, received CFDA certification (China’s FDA) in 2023 and was priced at around $60,000, reflecting the high cost of small-batch manufacturing, clinical trials, and company operations. At the time, other companies such as Honda and Samsung were still in the experimental stage and had not achieved scaled commercial sales.
Through conversations with sports and rehabilitation experts, we gradually realized the enormous potential demand for enhancing human mobility. However, entering the consumer market was a major challenge:
- The price had to be affordable — ideally, an exoskeleton shouldn’t cost more than a smartphone.
- The product had to be lightweight — under 2kg, like a MacBook.
- And the appearance had to be sleek and attractive.
Once these conditions were met, we believed the consumer market would be massive.
The key component of any exoskeleton is the reducer — a gearbox that amplifies motor force. It typically accounts for over 60% of the total cost. However, commercially available reducers couldn’t meet our requirements for high torque density and were extremely expensive. To address this, we made a bold decision: to develop our own reducer from scratch.
This was a massive undertaking. Over 18 months, we redesigned the reducer, optimized gear geometry through computational simulations, and conducted extensive testing. The result was a custom reducer that is 10x cheaper, 50% lighter, 3x more powerful, and nearly twice as efficient as conventional alternatives — while reducing heat generation by 30% at the same output.
This breakthrough, however, also required much more sophisticated control algorithms, which we successfully developed to unlock the reducer’s full potential.
After the successful launch of the X1, our team worked non-stop at the factory for three months to optimize the testing and assembly process of the reducer. This made it possible to scale production efficiently, which allowed us to amortize early development costs and drive prices down further — creating a virtuous cycle of volume and affordability that traditional exoskeleton makers have not been able to achieve. Our upcoming model, the Dnsys Z1, also uses this reducer, which will further reduce costs through shared components.
We applied similar strategies to the exoskeleton’s “skeleton” structure. While traditional exoskeletons often use labor-intensive methods such as carbon fiber layups or CNC-machined aluminum — which are expensive and slow — we chose mass-production-ready techniques such as carbon fiber injection molding and aluminum die casting, following six months of supply chain research. With computer simulation–based structural optimization, we were able to reduce weight while significantly improving rigidity…
Q: Could you share any sales numbers or the number of units shipped？
A: We’ve shipped close to 10,000 units of the X1, making it one of the most widely delivered exoskeletons in human history. Of course, this is still just the beginning compared to the scale of our vision.
Q: Will you be working towards a certification for a medical device or stay in the consumer realm?
A: We believe there’s strong synergy between our consumer and medical product lines.
Traditional medical-grade exoskeletons tend to be expensive and have very few users, mainly because they lack scale. Without scale, it’s difficult to iterate and improve the product, which limits advancements in areas like control algorithms, user experience, and manufacturability.
In contrast, Dnsys has already achieved significant scale with our consumer-grade products. This allows us to rapidly improve core technologies through real-world feedback, and these improvements directly benefit future medical devices.
We do plan to launch a dedicated product line that meets FDA certification standards, primarily designed for use in clinical and rehabilitation settings. This line will include features tailored to institutional and professional use, but it will share the core technology and manufacturing platform of our proven consumer products. This will significantly lower costs and improve reliability, ultimately making exoskeletons more accessible to both patients and healthcare providers.
Q: What is one thing that you want people to know about the Dnsys Z1?
A: The Dnsys Z1 represents three years of dedication from our team. It’s the next-generation product that many of our X1 users have been eagerly waiting for, and we’re working hard to get it into everyone’s hands as soon as possible.
My vision for the exoskeleton has always been to create a kind of “powered clothing,” something that anyone can wear, that feels almost invisible, yet provides powerful assistance to help people engage in life with more energy and freedom.
Together with our supporters, we’re committed to making that vision a reality.
In short, Dnsys has leveraged its technical know-how to create a consumer-grade powered exoskeleton with sales numbers that are quickly catching up to other application fields. As of this writing, only three non-consumer exo manufacturers have reported sales of over 10,000 units. With a self-reported 10,000 hip units already in the field and a knee model on the way (currently in crowdfunding), Dnsys is making a strong case for “powered clothing” for weekend hikers and aging boomers alike. We have lived through a digital revolution, which has completely changed how humanity communicates and shares knowledge. There is no reason not to go through a physical revolution, in which we use technology to change how much we can stay mobile and active before sitting down.