Episode 28: Not a Sales Pitch An Exoskeleton Engineer Puts Consumer Exos to the Test
Exoskeletons and Wearable RoboticsShow Notes
Powered exoskeletons for under $1,000 are finally here - but are they useful technology, expensive toys, clever gimmicks, or something in between? In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Tom Sugar after a day and a half of hands-on testing with several consumer hip exoskeletons, including the Hypershell base model, the Dnsys Pro, and the Hypershell Ultra. Tom is not just a curious first-time user; he is a wearable robotics researcher and engineer who has built multiple powered exoskeletons and p...
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From powered hiking assistance to robotic pants and passive ski supports, consumer exoskeletons are taking many forms. In Episode 36 of the Exoskeletons and Wearable Robotics Podcast, Borislav "Bobby" Marinov and Arizona State University professor Dr. Thomas “Tom” Sugar explore the consumer exoskeleton market in 2026, covering products already on sale, preorders, and devices still in development. The conversation includes Hypershell, DNSYS, Ascentiz, VIGX, WIRobotics, Dephy, Skip, Haier, and ...
Topics: 0:00 Introduction: What Exoskeleton Owners Can Learn from E-Bikes 7:47 Battery Care, Charging, and Manufacturer Guidance 14:10 Flying with an Exoskeleton: Batteries, Packing, and Airport Travel 20:46 Cleaning, Washable Components, Straps, and Fit 29:09 Mechanical Checks, Water Resistance, Apps, and Firmware 38:43 Storage, Repairs, Accessories, and the Owner’s Checklist This episode is not meant to be a definitive guide, but a starting point for a conversation. With an electric bicyc...
In Episode 34 of the Robotics and Exoskeletons Podcast, Bobby Marinov continues his interview with longtime co-host Dr. Thomas “Tom” Sugar, exploring the projects that followed his early work on rehabilitation robots and powered prosthetic ankles. Part 2 follows experiments in running assistance and load carriage into occupational exoskeletons, personal cooling, and newer rehabilitation and arm-support projects. Throughout the conversation, Tom returns to the challenge of building devices tha...
In Episode 33 of the Robotics and Exoskeletons Podcast, Bobby Marinov turns the interview toward longtime co-host and Arizona State University professor Dr. Thomas "Tom" Sugar for the first part of a career-spanning look at how his work evolved from automotive noise and vibration testing at Saturn and product-development work at W. L. Gore & Associates into compliant wearable robots. Tom revisits his earliest parallel pneumatic mechanisms, spring-based actuation and phase-control ideas, a...
Ten years after the first Wearable Robotics Innovation Challenge, we take a look at what has happened to the competition's winners and runners-up: In Episode 32 of the Robotics and Exoskeletons Podcast, Professor Thomas Sugar and Bobby Marinov revisit the seven WearRA Innovation Challenges held from 2016 through 2022 and ask what became of the memorable ideas. We trace projects ranging from HART Lab’s human-modeling work and EduExo’s educational kit to the Compact X-scissors shoulder me...