We Were Promised Jetpacks, but All We Have Are Exoskeletons

We were promised jetpacks,

but all we got were exoskeletons.

Sorry, could not resist making a Scottish indie rock joke.

I have been trying exoskeletons

since they first started coming to CES in 2018,

but this I think is the year

where the technology finally matured.

Lightweight, reasonably affordable exoskeletons

are now everywhere.

I tried the Hypershell exoskeleton at IFA last year,

and this year, we're looking at Ascentiz,

which just launched the Ascentiz-H Ultra at CES.

There are a few different models.

The H models provide hip assistance for shock absorbency,

sprinting, and load carrying.

The K models provide knee stability for climbing mountains,

cycling up hills,

or you know, racking up 50,000 steps here at CES.

Honestly, I would say that these exoskeletons

are a great choice for elderly people

who just want to be able to walk around

a little more safely and easily.

I tried the H model here at the Venetian

before the show starts.

The motor provides about 900 watts of burst output

and it has about 12 miles or 10 hours of battery life.

You can also swap out the battery pack for longer excursions

and your mile will definitely vary.

Inside, of course, there is intelligent AI chipset

that provides instantaneous, responsive feedback

for different assistance and activity modes.

100% powered, it's just way too much,

but sprint mode would be pretty useful

for getting for point A to point B

on the show floor really quickly.

The Ascentiz-H and K system will be available in February,

and the different models are priced

between 1,000 and $2,000.

You'll be able to buy these online

at common retailers like Amazon.

Don't forget to check out the live blog

at wired.com for more.