Exoskeletons offer consumer robotics a chance to find its footing

(By Caixin journalists Qin Min and Ding Yi)

During this year’s Lunar New Year holiday, tourists who wanted to walk the Great Wall of China but worried they lacked the strength were offered an option that combines advances in both robotics and artificial intelligence (AI): the robotic exoskeleton.

Videos of tourists wearing these devices — harnesses for the lower body with hinged struts that provide a motorised boost to the wearer’s legs — were reminiscent of several viral clips from last May of people using them to hike Mount Tai in Shandong province.

Powered by AI, these exoskeletons can sense and adapt to users’ movements, providing synchronised assistance to help them walk or climb. Their appearance at popular tourism spots in China has helped promote their possible use cases beyond industrial applications to things like sightseeing, elderly care, medical rehabilitation and logistics.

The technology has emerged as “a major direction where we can concentrate our efforts”, said Zhang Hua, a marketing partner at ULS Robotics Co. Ltd., because its potential uses are so closely connected with people’s everyday lives. ULS launched its first exoskeleton for the consumer market in July, expanding beyond the product’s traditional industrial focus.

Investment in the technology grew by leaps and bounds last year. In 2025, 19 financing deals worth 2.2 billion RMB (US$319 million) were finalised, up from eight deals worth 292 million RMB the previous year, according to domestic data provider ITjuzi.

Advances in battery life and miniaturisation have paved the way for robotic exoskeletons to be more accepted by individuals, said Yu Yunbo, founder of Kenqing Technology, a Shenzhen-based startup that develops the devices for use in outdoor sports, elderly care, scientific research and firefighting.

Analysts said the technology offers a clearer path to monetisation than other forms of AI, and the commercial success of the rental model at sites like Mount Tai has proven there is real-world demand. This has prompted a market shift toward lighter, more affordable consumer-grade devices aimed at a mass market, including China’s rapidly ageing population. However, the industry is still in its infancy, facing significant hurdles in product comfort, AI sophistication and user safety that must be overcome for widespread adoption.

Unlike AI-powered humanoid robots — an investor darling whose widespread use remains a long way off — robotic exoskeletons offer a clearer path to commercialisation, said Liu Xiaoqing, ITjuzi’s director of analysis.

At Mount Tai, visitors paid to rent a Kenqing exoskeleton, with the fee based on how long they used it, said Li Gang, a Taishan Cultural Tourism Group executive in charge of the project. During the peak season, the utilisation rate of the devices was as high as 80%.

Li attributed their popularity to demand from visitors who wanted to hike the mountain paths, but lacked the strength and stamina to do so on their own.

Each exoskeleton weighs 1.8 kilograms (4 pounds) and runs on batteries that can last about eight hours, according to Li. Their success at Mount Tai has caught the attention of operators at other scenic spots, some of whom contacted Taishan Cultural Tourism Group for advice about how to use and purchase the devices.

With 500 exoskeletons, the Mount Tai project is the largest application of the technology at one site, and has generated a trove of user data needed for product upgrades, according to Kenqing’s founder, Yu.

While rentals at tourist sites prove the concept, the industry’s future hinges on selling directly to individuals, according to Yu.

This pivot targets an immense potential market: China’s growing senior population. Last year, about 16% of the country’s citizens were over 65, up from 14% in 2021. That demographic is a key driver for consumer devices.

To reach this market, developers have abandoned impractical, full-body exoskeletons for lighter, more affordable devices that assist with specific areas of the body like the legs. Reducing the weight of the device will be critical to winning over consumers. Kenqing, for example, achieved this by redesigning its product to use fewer electric motors.

Supply chain innovations have also helped. Suppliers have begun providing advanced materials like carbon fibre, which is lighter, stronger and more corrosion-resistant than the metals used in previous iterations of the product.

With the business still in its infancy, the products have significant room for improvement. Even at 2 or 3 kilograms, current models can leave users with discomfort in the waist after long periods of wear. They also aren’t conducive to sitting or lying down, according to one exoskeleton vendor. So far, no company has developed an exoskeleton that feels as natural as regular clothing.

The AI algorithms that power the devices also have limitations. They often struggle to sense a user’s intent during slower movements or adapt to the gaits of people whose mobility is already impaired. This forces wearers to manually adjust assistance levels, a process that can be difficult for seniors.

More critically, malfunctions in the motors or AI features could pose serious safety risks, particularly for users with disabilities. To mitigate these concerns, manufacturers must build in safeguards like emergency power-off buttons, and also insure their products against accidents, according to both Yu and ULS Robotics’ Zhang. To guide the industry’s healthy development, insiders argue that formulating unified standards for components is urgently needed.

This article was first published by Caixin Global as “In Depth: Exoskeletons Offer Consumer Robotics a Chance to Find Its Footing”. Caixin Global is one of the most respected sources for macroeconomic, financial and business news and information about China.

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