Hypershell's first full-leg exoskeleton moved me in ways I wasn't expecting

Hypershell took to the Innovation Stage at IFA Berlin to unveil its latest exoskeleton, the Flagship Hypershell Halo, which introduces a four-motor system that covers the movement of your knees in addition to your hips.

Instead of bolting powered knees onto the Hypershell X-series, they went back to the drawing board and built Halo from the ground up. “We didn’t simply add powered knees to an existing hip exoskeleton,” said Hypershell CEO Kelvin Sun. “We redesigned the architecture, power system, and the intelligence around the entire lower body, so four powered joints can move as one with the user.”

The addition of the knee motors allows power to flow through almost the full range of motion as you walk, run, climb and jump. Hypershell is calling this new approach its “Unified Architecture” and it promises to provide active knee support which helps to relieve load on the knee joints through effort reduction, which is promised to reduce muscle fatigue in the knees by up to 40% during squatting motion. One area where I can see this being especially helpful is during long descents and climbing, where load bearing on the knees is a particular challenge.

“Technology shouldn’t replace human potential. It should unleash it,” said Hypershell’s Toby Knisely in his keynote presentation. And to demonstrate, he brought out three models to walk (and jump) through a staged scenario where a photographer conducted a content shoot with all of them wearing the Hypershell Halo while on an outdoor trip.

The point was that in a scenario like this, not only do the models who are hiking get to save energy for their poses, the photographer who’s carrying heavy kit and continuously crouching to get good angles is also able to endure for longer and get that extra shot. That’s the concept at least.

What really piqued my interest, though, was the motion capture reel that they played afterwards. Hypershell has worked with a motion capture studio to put the new Hypershell Halo through over 10,000 hours of testing. In the video, two mocap actors perform some basic stunts, including fight choreography, jumping onto and off large blocks and doing a range of flips.

I was impressed by the range of motion that the Halo was capable of. The actors didn't visibly hold back and appeared very comfortable using its full 198° of lateral movement and up to 167° of front-to-back motion, enabled by its “Fish-Spine Adaptive Joint” at each hip.

More than just a power upgrade

The introduction of the Hypershell Halo represents more than just a power upgrade, it comes with some extra benefits that move Hypershell further ahead of the competition. But in terms of power, its four motors output a combined 1,490W, with each knee unit weighing just 170g.

Knisely revealed that Halo can hit a maximum 17km/h, the equivalent of a 2.5h marathon pace. The improvement in power is thanks to a re-engineered electromagnetic system and magnesium alloy housing. The whole Halo tips the scales at 2.6kg, folds down to fit into a medium-sized 8L briefcase and is rated to IP54 standard for dust and water resistance.

Halo is compatible with large backpacks, so it can be worn on a proper hike. It also sees the introduction of HyperIntuition 2.0, Hypershell’s updated AI motion control brain. This is a specialised system of neural networks trained on 10,000 hours of motion data that work together utilising signals from the Halo’s sensor array.

HyperIntuition 2.0 claims to predict your next move roughly 200 milliseconds in advance and provide adjusted assistance up to 2,500 times a second. But it’s not just predictive, it’s designed to learn from the user and, if it works as intended, will learn how you move and provide bespoke support for your movement.

Power in your pocket

Alongside the Halo, the company also showed off the all-new PocketVolt battery, a compact boost unit that packs 72Wh into a pocketable 370g unit, which should be good for up to a stated 20km of range. It features a display to let you check your assistance level and remaining power, and it can be charged separately from the Halo, making it easy for hikers to carry multiple batteries for extended trips without adding any additional bulk to the exoskeleton itself.

Hypershell also introduced Shelly, its AI-powered app that you can download and use for free, allowing you to talk to the exoskeleton directly. This means users can make adjustments, plan routes through natural conversation without having to occupy hands or remove gloves. It claims it's the world’s first dedicated consumer exoskeleton assistant, and it seems like yet another great point of difference within the rapidly growing exoskeleton segment.

Quick set up

To cap off his presentation, Knisely dared to put on the Hypershell Halo live on stage, after revealing that despite its additional straps and more complex construction, the Halo is still easy to put on and take off. Without breaking a sweat, he locked in the Hypershell Halo’s five straps from a cold start in exactly 16.14 seconds, just under four seconds shy of the time he said he’d achieved during rehearsals. It was one of the better product demos and keynotes I’ve seen this year, well rehearsed, quick and confident.

Lastly, Knisley revealed that existing X-series users will soon get updates including “Low Speed Enhance” for shorter strides and “Descent Assist”, which provides active knee damping for descents. He also shared details of its growing service centre network and 24/7 call support, which is now available in English, Arabic, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, with language support expected to continue expanding to more languages in the near future.

Founded in 2021, Hypershell is currently the leading consumer exoskeleton brand, representing 60% of the market. It’s present in 70+ countries with roughly 200 real-world experience and rental locations. These extra benefits announced alongside the Halo go some way to build on its market dominance as a brand by going beyond sales with a proper plan for after-market support for its customers.

Price and availability

The Hypershell Halo is available for pre-order now for £2,199 in the UK, $2,299 in the US and €2,299 in Europe and comes with a battery and the AeroFlex shoulder strap accessory. Halo also comes in a highly limited Origin Edition, numbered from 1-200, coming with extra power and an additional year of warranty.