A new set of 'powered pants' can boost your leg strength as much as 40%, or make you feel around 30 lb (14 kg) lighter, according to Google X Labs spinout Skip. This 'mountain goat' exoskeleton aims to eliminate physical barriers to outdoor hiking.
Skip has just partnered with Arc’teryx, a high-end outdoor clothing company, to create the MO/GO pant – which stands for MOuntain/GOat, of course. It's a rugged-looking pair of outdoor trousers with a built-in hybrid soft/rigid exoskeleton. Its knee joint servo motors can give the wearer a 40% boost in power by assisting their quads and hammies during a walk or hike.
Making things easier on the muscles can make a huge difference to your endurance out on the trails. The MO/GO system's battery lasts three or more hours, helping you uphill and recharging itself as it supports your knees on the downhill bits – much like an electric car might use regenerative braking.
Arc'teryx has been around for over 30 years, specializing in climbing, skiing and alpine apparel and equipment, making it a solid partner for Skip's technology.
The story behind Skip is an interesting one. According to TechCrunch, it started as an idea in the "moonshot" division at Alphabet – Google's parent company, before eventually stalling out as many ideas do in Alphabet X Labs. Tech like Waymo self-driving cars, Gmail and even the beginnings of ChatGPT were hatched from within the X labs.
In late 2023, Alphabet began to lay off swaths of people to reduce company costs – in fact, the 2024 X Labs budget has been slashed to less than half of what it was last year, and prospects weren't looking good for projects like this.
Kathryn Zealand was the project lead for the exoskeleton technology, and after showing much promise with her prototype designs, she was encouraged to take a different, more profitable and money-saving direction, like perhaps making immersive video game controllers.
Zealand quickly realized that the project she was so passionate about would not thrive within the confines of Alphabet's X Labs. She was able to raise US$6 million through outside funding and grants, and though Alphabet would not sell her the intellectual property rights to the tech, she was able to spin the company out to become founder and CEO of the now independent startup called Skip Innovations Inc.
During development, Zealand says the tech has already opened doors for people – such as a woman who hadn't been able to climb a flight of stairs in 25 years, but was able to twice in quick succession while using the powered-leg-assist technology. Or an aging mountaineer who thought he'd reached his last summit, but is now back out there with a little mechanical help.
The MO/GO is not touted as a medical device. Instead, it's a mobility device, designed to allow the user less muscle fatigue and joint discomfort with less exertion. Not only with a 40% boost on the way up but with support for your knees on the way down, damping the footfalls.
Zealand plans to eventually seek FSA (Flexible Spending Accounts) coverage availability and Skip is conducting clinical trials for conditions like Parkinsons, but it could be years before the MO/GO could be qualified as a medical device, if ever.
For now, Skip is offering rentals in the western United States and Canada until it starts shipping product later this year at a stair-stepping $2,250. That's per leg – double it if you have two, so it's certainly not cheap. The rentals, on the other hand, could get you out and about for a nice afternoon for just US$80, which is much more approachable.
And there are certainly cheaper options going around if you're prepared to go Chinese – the Dnsys X1 exoskeleton, for example, appears to be more than twice as powerful, putting the assist at the hip joint with a carbon/titanium version that covers both legs and throws in a spare battery for less than US$1000. A 'Lite' version is also available, albeit with less peak power and top speed, for under US$500.
Skip has just released the teasiest of teaser videos ever. Check it out:
Source: Skip