Design World – August 2019

The Robot Report

60 August 2019 http://www.designworldonline.com DESIGN WORLD

Eugene Demaitre • Senior Editor • The Robot Report

Company supports Cybathlon teams,

works on Generation 2 of its

joint actuator.

The story of exoskeletons is full of twists and turns, with promising technologies,

challenging use cases, and a sometimes tortuous path to adoption. Robotics observers might be

familiar with demonstrations on video or at conferences, but the developer story is rarely told.

The Robot Report recently got some insights from Otto Ineichen, business development manager

at maxon motor ag in Switzerland. Ineichen has experience as an applications engineer and a sales

engineer, and he described the evolution of exoskeletons for healthcare and industrial uses.

How did maxon, which supplies high-precision drives for robots and other devices,

become interested in exoskeletons?

Ineichen: A few years ago, we became more and more focused in the U.S. on exoskeletons.

We studied the growing market and saw exoskeletons for medical applications.

Maxon developed motors based on our standard parts. We have Generation 1, and

we’re now working on Generation 2, to come next year.

Must Keep Refining

Capabilities, Cost,

Says maxon Manager

Exoskeleton

Developers

maxon motors’ Ineichen

maxon-Exoskeleton_Robot Report 8-19_Vs4.LL.indd 60 8/5/19 12:22 PM