Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation have teamed up to create the "X-ble Shoulder," a wearable robot designed to enhance industrial efficiency and reduce musculoskeletal injuries and fatigue.
The X-ble Shoulder is designed to assist workers performing overhead tasks – like a mechanic under a car – by augmenting upper arm strength and endurance. It can decrease shoulder load by up to 60% and deltoid muscle strain by 30%.
The best part of all is that it's not an electrically powered system. It's a lightweight, carbon composite "non-powered torque generation structure" that only weighs about 4.2 lb (1.9 kg). It generates assistive force through its multi-link "muscle compensation module," therefore requires no charging. It's durable as well, with an expectation of performing 700,000 repetitive folding and unfolding actions per year.
The vest easily detaches from the mechanical components making it easy to manage and clean as well as compatible with the attire of workers across many differing industries.
There are two versions of the X-ble Shoulder: basic and adjustable. The former is designed for flexibility and provides up to 6.39 lbf (2.9 kgf) of assistive force while the latter is designed for repetitive tasks where workers repeat the same movement. The adjustable wearable exoskeleton can be adjusted for maximum torque, providing up to 8.16 lbf (3.7 kgf), meaning the robotic shoulder is capable of lifting just over 8 lb (3.7 kg) with minimal arm effort on the worker's behalf.
The X-ble Shoulder, per Hyundai and Kia's suggestion, could be used in a variety of industries from construction, automotive and aviation to shipbuilders and agriculture. Anything that could use some extra strength and stamina from your arms would benefit.
The car company partner-duo says that the wearable robot and exoskeleton market is worth around US$2.5 billion today and expects it to be closer to $10.25 billion by 2029.
The X-ble Shoulder will be used in Kia and Hyundai's maintenance and production lines in the first half of 2025 before going into the overseas market by 2026.
The two companies are also working on other wearable robots called the X-ble Waist to assist in lifting heavy loads and lessen the chance of back and waist injuries, and the X-ble MEX, a medical robot for rehabilitation of those who are walking-impaired.
Hyundai and Kia aren't the first car companies to debut this type of technology. Audi, with the help of Ottobock and Skelex, trialed similar exoskeletons five years ago and we haven't seen this tech go mainstream yet. In fact, Hyundai also touted an earlier version of their shoulder-helping exoskeleton five years ago called the VEX – it used springs for assistance. The new X-ble Shoulder appears to be an updated version.
Hyundai owns roughly 34% of Kia and the partnership allows them to share technology while remaining two distinct companies.
There's no listed price for the robo-shoulder as of yet.
Source: Hyundai
