{"id":13360,"date":"2021-10-13T18:55:48","date_gmt":"2021-10-13T22:55:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/?p=13360&preview=true&preview_id=13360"},"modified":"2026-03-26T07:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:36:25","slug":"axosuits-takes-exoskeletons-from-sci-fi-to-medical-and-industrial-markets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/axosuits-takes-exoskeletons-from-sci-fi-to-medical-and-industrial-markets\/","title":{"rendered":"Axosuits takes exoskeletons from sci-fi to medical and industrial markets"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Body augmentation and exoskeletons have been a part of sci-fi lore for ages. Whether you\u2019re contemplating the balancing system of the power loader from Alien<\/em> or watching a real sports mech<\/a>, robotic exoskeletons are a point of interest for engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current market for robotic exo-suits has a more practical application than sci-fi and mech warrior games. Andrew Kapy is the co-founder of Axosuits<\/a>, a human body augmentation startup, where the focus is on robotics and exoskeleton development with advanced projects centered on medical units for rehabilitation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Axosuits team realized there was an opportunity to improve life for patients with a better-designed and more economical exoskeleton. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExoskeletons have been around since the 1960\u2019s, with little market penetration,\u201d Kapy explained. \u201cThe main cause has been the prohibitive cost and the lack of interest from insurance companies. Our mission at Axosuits is to raise the standard of care by democratizing access to this technology.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building a Startup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kapy\u2019s background is in IT and engineering, and he has worked with companies all over the world. \u201cThe past ten years of this work have also meant various managerial roles and working with multicultural teams,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axosuits was started seven years ago with nothing more than a couple ideas and sketches on a piece of paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring the exploration of exoskeleton applicability, we saw industrial use as a larger market, but the requirements varied greatly because of the large number of use cases,\u201d Kapy said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the industrial market seemed like low-hanging fruit, the broad range of requirements led the Axosuits team to head down the path of using their concepts for medical purposes. Kapy cites sourcing as one of the challenges of working on medical devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is a limited number of suppliers and COTS [commercial off the shelf] components that are certified for medical use, hence the radically increased price for medical equipment,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt took us years and several iterations to find a good combination of affordable medical components and the required reliability. Regulatory compliance is also a big hassle. But strangely enough, the lack of applicable standards was also a big problem. There was also a mindset shift regarding the concept of compliance\u2014not what most startup team members are excited about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Axosuits
Kapy\u2019s team realized that they not only needed better engineering for an exoskeleton, but also, a more economical design. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Designing a Mechanical Suit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While these exoskeleton systems have been around for decades as conceptual devices, they were impractical and too costly to be of value for any real use, and often the functionality was subpar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Axosuits team had to start fresh for their medical exoskeleton design\u2014with the end users, patients with disabilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe wanted to understand what patients and medical professionals seek should they want to use exoskeletons,\u201d he explained. \u201cWe also interviewed existing exoskeleton users to understand what limitations they experienced during usage.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of medical space with its design challenges, Kapy faced patients with a lot of emotion attached to their disabilities. This meant that the design process was more than just fixing an issue in a specific market\u2014it was about changing the way users felt about their medical equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a thorough interview process with a number of different patients and potential end users, the Axosuits team went to review existing and draft standards, as well as regulatory requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnly after these steps are taken can the actual engineering work start,\u201d he said. \u201cThe process itself focuses on the end result; the user requirements and the work items are refined subsequently.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Axosuits interviewed medical users of exoskeletons to better understand exactly where their challenges existed. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Using Solid Edge<\/a>, the team was able to develop and refine their design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeveral solutions were evaluated, and Solid Edge was found to be a match for our needs,\u201d Kapy explained. \u201cWe were looking for a long-term mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD) product which offered not just parametric design but finite element analysis (FEA) as well. The most important feature for us, besides parametric tools, was the FEA module. We saved a lot in development time by simulating movements, forces and fatigue before actual design integration was done. This shortened our development process and created organizational knowledge about good design practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leveraging Solid Edge for Startups<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Solid Edge for Startups program<\/a> is an effort by Siemens to provide startups with the software they need to get started. The program provides eligible startups with free access to a complete solution for product development, including CAD, CAM and CAE software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kapy explained that they were able to reach out to Solid Edge to get things rolling. “We reached out to Solid Edge to request CAD licenses and we got a call back in a remarkably short time, then we were visited by a local Siemens integrator to speed up the onboarding. The support offered through the integrator also reduced learning time and shortened our overhead.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Solid Edge is a tool that provides a whole suite of different solutions, from CAD and parametric modeling to simulation and production tools. Leveraging this suite of tools has provided Axosuits with a leg up in their development process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Solid Edge is a complex tool, but the learning curve is not steep and there is an extensive knowledge base available,” Kapy said. “One key performance indicator I was looking at was time spent between the first usage of Solid Edge and the production of our first parts.” According to Kapy, that time was remarkably short and the end result was achieved quickly, as they had hoped. So, they moved forward with Solid Edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Axosuits is quickly progressing toward large scale production of their medical exoskeleton. As production begins, they are already looking for ways to optimize the manufacturing. That means refining their design for manufacturability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Axosuits
Axosuits used Solid Edge because they needed a tool that included both parametric design tools and finite element analysis to simulate testing. Kapy\u2019s team is looking to refine their design further to develop opportunities in new markets, like the manufacturing space. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Now that the Axosuits team has more experience and understanding of the market requirements and challenges when building an exoskeleton system, they plan on broadening the target industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to engage the construction industry, because it is an accident-prone space and not particularly automated, which could be perfect for our technology. In order to do that, we’ll be actively looking for strategic partners who can help us scale as we move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their design team is also already looking at their next project, which will lead into a more industrial arena. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We now have the task of taking the industrial exoskeleton from design to physical product,” Kapy said. “We are positive Solid Edge will give us the extra lift we need to get the job done.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It appears that Axosuits has carved out a space in one market by bringing down the prohibitive costs of exoskeleton technology. Now they can vary the design to address other markets, one market at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Read the full story on Engineering.com \u2192 <\/strong><\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To learn more about Solid Edge for Startups and how to start a free trial, visit solidedge.siemens.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Body augmentation and exoskeletons have been a part of sci-fi lore for ages. But the current market for robotic ‘exosuits’ has a more practical application than sci-fi and mech warrior games<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30919,"featured_media":13404,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spanish_translation":"","french_translation":"","german_translation":"","italian_translation":"","polish_translation":"","japanese_translation":"","chinese_translation":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,179],"tags":[3118,3125,3124,224,27,575,244],"industry":[170,545,158,164,166,546,167,547,168,548,169,544],"product":[439],"coauthors":[3121],"class_list":["post-13360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-customer-success-story","tag-engineering-com","tag-exoskeletons","tag-medical-devices","tag-next-generation-design","tag-partner","tag-robotics","tag-startup-spotlight","industry-small-medium-business","industry-cardiovascular-neurological-yachts-leisure","industry-marine","industry-medical-devices-pharmaceuticals","industry-medical-instruments-equipment","industry-medical-instruments-equipment-cardiovascular-neurological-yachts-leisure","industry-orthopedics-dental","industry-orthopedics-dental-medical-instruments-equipment-cardiovascular-neurological-yachts-leisure","industry-pharmaceuticals","industry-pharmaceuticals-orthopedics-dental-medical-instruments-equipment-cardiovascular-neurological-yachts-leisure","industry-software-development","industry-yachts-leisure","product-solid-edge"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2021\/10\/human-and-robot-hands-touching_medium.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30919"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13360"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13900,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13360\/revisions\/13900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13404"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13360"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=13360"},{"taxonomy":"product","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product?post=13360"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/solidedge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=13360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}