Tesla principle: Exoskeleton pioneer German Bionic introduces “over-the-air” functional updates

German robotics specialist presents world’s first operating system for intelligent power suits

 

Augsburg, May 10, 2021 – German Bionic, the world’s leading manufacturer of smart power suits, now enables functional updates to be performed “over-the-air”, i.e., via wireless remote transmission. Making this possible is the German Bionic OS operating system, which connects the power suits to the cloud. The Augsburg-based robotics company is thus the world’s first exoskeleton provider to develop its own operating system to full market maturity, specifically for wearable robots.

German Bionic System Solution

“We know from our customers and partners in the logistics area that exoskeletons are significantly more flexible than any other existing tool when it comes to manual handling. To make the power suits even smarter and therefore even more adaptable for all employees and the workplace, we connect them via our cloud to Smart Factory interfaces. By means of ‘over-the-air’ software updates, we can modify the exoskeleton and thereby enable new use cases,” explains Norma Steller, Head of IoT at German Bionic.

With the implementation of a new Agile control mode, German Bionic recently delivered conceptual proof of the system’s capabilities. The Cray X exoskeleton now interprets the user’s movements with greater precision and learns how to best respond to the user’s movements. “We are making over-the-air functionality a standard in robotics,” states Armin G. Schmidt, CEO of German Bionic, on the introduction of the new technology. “In the future, our exoskeletons will effectively continue to get a little bit better with every update.” Machine learning, itself a form of artificial intelligence, occurs in real time in the German Bionic cloud. The Cray X is thus continuously trained and adapts better to the user and their workplace with each work session.

Wireless software updates have long been a standard feature of smartphones. This technology is also slowly making its way into the automotive industry. U.S. electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla already marked the beginning about eight years ago. As software is also playing an increasingly central role in networked devices, machines and tools, the need to update the software is also growing. Also interesting from the customer’s point of view: software bugs, i.e., minor errors or updates to the program code, which previously required a service employee to remedy, can now be resolved virtually thanks to remote maintenance. “Everything becomes faster and easier for customers,” says Norma Steller.

 

About German Bionic

German Bionic is backed by renowned international technology investors such as Samsung Catalyst Fund, Storm Ventures and MIG, which is also invested in Covid-19 vaccine developer BioNTech. Our company and our products are regularly featured in top-tier publications and are the recipients of numerous awards including the German Entrepreneur Award, the Land of Ideas Award, the Automatica Award as well as a nomination for Hannover Messe’s coveted Hermes Award.

The Cray X from German Bionic is the world’s first connected exoskeleton. Linked to the Smart Factory, it self-learns to reinforce lifting movements and prevent incorrect posture, thus becoming an intelligent link between humans and machines in logistics and intralogistics processes. In doing so, it delivers the data that underscores its ability to protect the health of workers, measurably reduce the risk of accidents, and thereby make quantifiable improvements to work processes.

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