Personal exoskeletons were a major highlight at CES 2026. We saw ambitious designs from newcomers like WiRobotics, Sumbu, Ascentiz, and Dephy. Meanwhile, Skip Mo/Go returned to showcase their long-awaited tech trousers. Dnsys (pronounced Deen-sis), a more established player, teased new launches, while Hypershell brought back its top model, and Ascentiz had us sprinting across the show floor.
An exoskeleton is a fresh category of wearable device aimed at enhancing or assisting human movement, strength, posture, and physical activity. The main unit wraps around your waist like a belt, with hinged, mechanized splints extending over your hips and attaching to your thighs. These provide robotic support for normal movements like walking, running, or squatting.
Once solely used in medical rehabilitation and factory settings, exoskeletons are now looking to make a mark as consumer products. This market is rapidly evolving, with projections indicating growth from over half a billion dollars in 2025 to more than $2 billion by 2030.
As of now, only Hypershell and Dnsys (both founded in China in 2021) offer consumer exoskeletons for sale. We had previously reviewed the pre-launch prototype of the Dnsys X1 (5/10, WIRED Review), promising to race them as soon as they hit the market. With the arrival of the Hypershell X Ultra, that day has finally come.
At London’s Lea Valley Athletics Center, we pitted the $1,999 Hypershell X Ultra against the $1,899 Dnsys X1 Carbon Pro in a series of “athletic” challenges. Both flagship products caught attention, although that could have been due to our impressive athleticism.
Dnsys and Hypershell invest significantly in marketing their exoskeletons’ physical benefits. Hypershell claims its devices lead to a 42% lower heart rate, 20% less exertion while walking, and a 63% increase in hip flexor endurance. Dnsys touts potential reductions in power demand by up to 50%. However, confirming or debunking these claims proved tricky during our testing of the Hypershell Pro X (6/10, WIRED Review). Despite tracking heart rate, pace, and distance with a smartwatch, some data suggested we used more energy while wearing the exoskeleton than without.
The design of Hypershell is sleeker compared to the exposed wires of Dnsys. But one thing is for sure: the exoskeletons definitely work. They give you a robotic boost that can help propel you forward. The tangible benefits, however, will vary from person to person. Chris Haslam, one of WIRED’s reviewers involved in the testing, has a 76-year-old father with a titanium hip. His dad could use an exoskeleton to climb a hill without needing to catch his breath halfway up. On the flip side, Chris, a healthy and active 48-year-old, found the devices to be more of a hindrance.
Testing both exoskeletons allowed us to compare performance and gauge perceived effort. The sprint races were somewhat lighthearted, but the longer we wore each device, the clearer our understanding became regarding how each exoskeleton performed and how it felt.
For our tests, we first completed a baseline run of 400 meters without the exoskeletons, and then repeated the same distance wearing each one. We kept our pace and distance consistent, allowing us to clearly see differences in exertion through heart rate changes.
