The $20 million Series A round was led by theSamsung Catalyst Fund. It was a curious alliance, given that the company has shown off its own technology. I took the Gait Enhancing and Motivation System out for a spin a few times and it worked well for walking assistance.
It is not clear how seriously we are supposed to take the robotic ambitions of the company. The company's offerings seem mostly for show. German Bionic has been at this for a while. The company just announced the fifth generation of its robotic exoskeleton, the Cray X, which will be on display at next year's Consumer Electronics Show in a few short weeks.
The system is set to debut early next year and will be available as a hardware-as-a-service subscription model.
The image is called German Bionic.
The new system can support up to 66 additional pounds per lift. Adding walking assistance to the mix is what it adds. It is the first time that the Cray X line has a combination of support that is split between different devices. It works by gently pushing the legs forward when loads need to be moved. It helps reduce premature exhaustion and preserve the energy levels of workers.
The new model has a hot swappable battery and is water/dust resistant. There are many people in the space. Many companies are trying to blur the line between human and robotic workers by offering mechanical assistance for physically demanding manual labor. Ikea and BMW are some of the company's clients.
