German Bionic makes their CES 2023 debut with its lightest powered exosuit to date

Two new posture-protecting items will be shown at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, by German Bionic, the robotic exoskeleton firm that created the Cray X. The Apogee is the company’s newest and lightest powered exosuit designed for commercial and industrial usage, while the Smart SafetyVest will “provide ergonomic monitoring and protection to every worker,” according to a press statement issued on Monday.

The Apogee incorporates insights acquired through the development of the Cray X, culminating in German Bionic’s lightest exosuit to date. Despite its lightweight, it can support up to 66 pounds of strain on the user’s lower back per lifting action and provides active walking aid to alleviate fatigue. The SafetyVest, on the other hand, does not actively assist the user in lifting heavy objects, but it does monitor their motions and body positions while working and provides “data-based, tailored ergonomic insights, as well as evaluations and suggested actions.”

The Apogee and SafetyVest both depend on the German Bionic IO architecture to gather, monitor, evaluate, and report back to the user’s ergonomic data. When the user is actively making risky manoeuvres, this is often done via the onboard display or with audio alarms.

“With our new wearables, we are empowering hard-working people with the tools they need to do their jobs more safely and sustainably,”  stated Norma Steller, CPO of German Bionic. “Both our new ergonomic wearables – Apogee and Smart SafetyVest – as well as our award-winning Cray X exoskeleton enable us to provide the right support for just about any company or work environment where manual work is performed. And with the German Bionic IO data platform, we also deliver a powerful analytics tool for workplace ergonomics and processes.”