Finally, a fashionable exoskeleton

The outdoor gear/clothing company Arcteryx is collaborating with Skip (a GoogleX spin-off) to sell a streamlined exoskeleton device called MO/GO that integrates with hiking pants. They are taking pre-orders now ($5k) for delivery in late 2025. Powered exoskeletons aren't new, but they have mainly been limited to military and specialized industrial applications (real-world versions of the devices in Aliens and Avatar). I haven't really seen a retail consumer device like this previously, at least not from a mainstream company. They are marketing it towards hikers who have lost strength and mobility, but also talking about developing a medical-grade device for people with Parkinson's, etc.

When Apple introduced AirPods, I remember people saying that they were a gateway towards the type of body modification that was foreshadowed in the 1980s sci-fi cyberpunk genre. I feel the same way about the MO/GO. Cochlear implants are already common, and it's not hard to imagine surgically implanting more elaborate electronic I/O and powered skeletal devices, maybe initially marketed for people with disabilities, but as we've learned from the GLP-1 agonist drugs, medical advances are rapidly converted to elective uses.

https://squamish.arcteryxacademy.com/mo/go
https://www.skipwithjoy.com/buy/p/style-01-ej5na-hbs9d

I have not (yet) had a knee or hip replacement, although many friends have had one or two. If this type of device can keep me going without surgery, hook me up (provided it doesn't have cargo pockets.)

Thanks for sharing. Definitely promising.
I thanksfully don’t need one for now but I can easily imagine how happy I would be if this can enable me to keep moving, and for the matter get out and hike.
My parents and those of my wife are in need of those solutions … I’ll keep an eye on this launch and how people review it in real life.

This is amazing and life changing for those of us who were once very active and have been left handicapped by injury or age (like many things, physical handicap is on a spectrum). Luckily my joints are still in good shape (thank you Yoga)- the impact to my back and chronic nerve pain however is another story. But even in my case, an assist on the mechanics of leg movement could make an incredible difference.
I will be watching this technology.

There was a gentleman in my town who had a stroke and ended up in that “locked in syndrome” where he was aware of everything but couldn’t move or communicate. He volunteered to have an experimental brain implant installed where he could communicate via computer ie his brainwaves were turned into words on computer screen. That is a very rudimentary explanation.

He was the editor of the local city paper for 30 years so they followed his progress with a plethora of articles. It worked for like a year then faded the researchers couldn’t determine what went wrong. I can’t think of many things more horrid than locked In syndrome.

On the topic of these “robotics” I used to run into a vet a lot hiking who was combat injured and had devices similar to what Dan posted though not as advanced they assisted him with leg movement and allowed him to hike. We got to talking he was very grateful for them but his pain was over the top. He struggled to do half that trail every time I ran into him. Maybe the tech above will provide greater mobility assistance cutting down on the pain.

I hope I never have to find out but does insurance cover them? Here you go sir your copay is 200k

Currently they are not medical devices so I'm sure that insurance won't cover them. If they do make one that receives FDA approval, it will probably be similar to the situation with prosthetics.

There are some approved and on the market, exoskeletons that is. Not heavy tech as far as I know but like I said that wounded warrior on the hiking trail had one that walked for him to a degree. I didn’t study them, he just told me a bit. My comment about the copay was tongue in cheek current models are around 70k and up. Meant to link an article but I forgot to copy it I think it’s from reeves corporation ie Christopher Reeves.

I'm also familiar with the bionic prostheses in that price range. The OP device is $5k, and really aimed for the consumer market, which is why I found it interesting and different.

Jeez, tinnitus is bad enough.
Imagine hearing "tzzzzzzzzzzzzzt...tzzzzzzzzzzzzzt..................tzzzzzzzzzzzzzt...tzzzzzzzzzzzzzt" all through your hike.


😉