New exoskeleton project ‘could enhance mobility for older people’

help older people to stay active for longer.

Several research centres, including Aalborg University, have been working for ten months on the AXO Suit system with a first portable prototype expected to be ready in around a year. The collaboration will conclude in two years when a fully functional model is completed.

The device will be a lightweight robotic skeleton with small electric motors that can be mounted on the body, offering support while the motors provide extra strength to perform different types of movements.

It will incorporate advanced sensors to detect the intended movement of the user, with the performance of the electric motors to be limited to ensure it is not more powerful than the user themselves.

This technology has the potential to help older people remain mobile and engage in low-impact tasks such as gardening, going for walks and managing in their own homes for a longer time.

Shaoping Bai, associate professor at the department of mechanical and manufacturing engineering at Aalborg University, said: "We don't expect that this is something you'll see everywhere in five years, but it will be accessible on the market for ordinary consumers."