page_title: Ekso Bionics
section_title: Background
hierarchical_section_title: Ekso Bionics / Background
caption_attribution_description: English: HULC - Human Universal Load Carrier
context_page_description: Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc. is a company that develops and manufactures powered exoskeleton bionic devices that can be strapped on as wearable robots to enhance the strength, mobility, and endurance of soldiers and paraplegics. These robots have a variety of applications in the medical, military, industrial, and consumer markets. It enables individuals with any amount of lower extremity weakness, including those who are paralyzed, to stand up and walk.
  The company's first commercially available product is called Ekso. Ekso Bionics is the original developer of HULC, now under military development by Lockheed Martin, and the current developers of Ekso, which allows wheelchair users to stand and walk.
  Ekso was selected as Wired magazine's number two "Most Significant Gadget of 2010", and was included in Time magazine's "50 Best Innovations of 2010". Ekso Bionics was also featured in Inc. magazine as one of "5 Big Ideas for the Next 15 Years".
context_section_description: The company was founded in 2005 under the name of Berkeley ExoWorks by Homayoon Kazerooni, Russ Angold and Nathan Harding, all members of the Berkeley Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory at the University of California. Berkeley ExoWorks introduced ExoHiker and ExoClimber, both with a weight carrying capacity of 150 pounds.
  In 2007 the company changed its name from Berkeley ExoWorks to Berkeley Bionics. Berkeley Bionics developed an untethered, hydraulically powered exoskeleton they called the Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC), and which could carry heavier loads than the previous models. The HULC system was announced publicly at the AUSA Winter Symposium on February 26, 2009 when an exclusive licensing agreement was reached with Lockheed Martin. Berkeley Bionics also debuted eLEGS, an intelligent, bionic exoskeleton that allows wheelchair users to stand and walk.
  In 2011 Berkeley Bionics changed its name again, to its current name Ekso Bionics. It also changed the name of eLegs to Ekso.
  In 2012, Ekso suits were registered as a class l device for hospital use in the US, and received a CE marking from the E.U.
  In 2013, Ekso Bionics added Variable Assist, an intelligent and adaptive software providing the ability to provide adaptive amounts of power to either side of the body, making them unique in the field of medical exoskeletons.
  In 2014, Ekso Bionics became a public company.
  In 2015, Ekso Bionics began to develop new market with industrial prototype. Continues to expand into leading rehabilitation hospitals.
  In 2016 Ekso Bionics appointed Thomas Looby interim chief executive officer, continues commercialization drive.
caption: Human Universal Load Carrier
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