Now on the market: the world’s first active shoulder exoskeleton for industrial use, made in Germany. The S700 from the Hamburg-based company exoIQ effectively relieves arm, neck and shoulder muscles with up to 5kg per arm. Physically demanding workplaces in industry can thus be made fit for the future.
Exoskeletons are body-worn support systems that redirect the load from weaker to stronger parts of the body. With the new S700 active exoskeleton from exoIQ, the upper arms are supported electro-pneumatically. The additional power support can be adjusted from 1 to 5kg. This provides noticeable and demonstrable relief for the muscles in the shoulders, arms and neck during assembly and handling tasks in front of the chest and at overhead height. It can also be adjusted to different body sizes and shapes without the need for tools. Different pre-programmed support modes enable even more targeted adjustment to different work areas.
Active support systems
With the battery-operated S700, exoIQ is launching an innovation that is the first of its kind on the market. “The highlight of active support systems is that the power delivery is individually adjustable. The S700 grips the employee under the arms to prevent overexertion and fatigue. But the level of support can be customised by each user and for each activity. And the system can be switched to pause mode at any time so that it doesn’t get in the way of secondary activities,” said Bernward Otten, managing director of exoIQ from Hamburg.
Reduced strain means increased concentration and work quality
Exoskeletons are not intended to replace employees, but to reduce the strain on them. When using the S700 for overhead or chest-height activities, an immediate, positive effect is felt. Reduced fatigue and increased concentration have an equally positive effect on both employee satisfaction and quality of work. “Nothing is more flexible than the human being, which has continued to evolve over millions of years. The main driving force behind successful companies is keeping their employees’ performance at a consistent level. And that’s where we come in, offering an ergonomic aid that makes work easier, in the form of the S700,” added exoIQ managing director Robert Weidner.
The S700 active shoulder exoskeleton has been available on the market since October 2023.
About exoIQ: exoIQ GmbH was founded in Hamburg in 2017 and develops intelligently designed support systems. Its roots lie in a university research project at Helmut Schmidt University, which has been researching exoskeletons since 2014. The mission of exoIQ is to support, strengthen and relieve people in the industrial workplace and protect them from physical harm. And thus to positively change the future of work.
Founder profiles
Robert Weidner was born in Hamburg in 1986 and studied mechanical engineering at Hamburg University of Technology. After graduating in 2010, we worked as a research assistant and, since 2014, as junior research group leader of the interdisciplinary smartASSIST junior research group (project of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research) and as group leader for robotics and automation at the manufacturing technology lab (Professor Wulfsberg) of the Helmut Schmidt University/University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg. Since 2018, he has been a professor at the University of Innsbruck, where he holds the professorship for manufacturing technology.
“With our intelligently designed exoskeletons, we want to improve workplace ergonomics and reduce physical strain.”
Bernward Otten was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1989 and studied medical engineering as well as mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich. In 2022, he received his doctorate from Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg, where he was a member of the interdisciplinary junior research group smartASSIST from 2015 to 2019, researching methods and concepts for human-technology interaction.
“In many ways, the evolutionary story of the human being, as a complex machine with over 600 muscles, makes it an exciting sparring partner.”