logo
From High-Cost Hardware To Hope: How ExoAtlet's New Rental Model Could Change Rehabilitation Forever

From High-Cost Hardware To Hope: How ExoAtlet's New Rental Model Could Change Rehabilitation Forever

Forbes21-04-2025
Image of the ExoAtlet medical exoskeleton by ExoAtlet
Powered exoskeletons can cost more than $100,000 and are prohibitively expensive for most. However, the medical technology startup ExoAtlet is trying out a well-known solution borrowed from the software world and will offer its wearable devices as Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS). This week, the European exoskeleton producer ExoAtlet announced a unique partnership with WeCare MedLease, launching a leasing program intended to make its medical walking assistance wearable robots more accessible to clinics, researchers, and individuals across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
While this is the first mass medical rental program, some consumer exoskeletons have already successfully introduced their powered devices as rentals (though not all attempts have succeeded). By adopting an alternative to direct sales and introducing a Hardware as a Service (HaaS) model to medical exoskeletons, ExoAtlet could be paving the way for the occupational/industrial and defense wearable technology markets to follow suit. The high upfront cost of the devices has repeatedly been cited as a barrier to mass adoption.
'People must walk in order to get back on their feet,' says Kate Bereziy, CEO of ExoAtlet. 'By combining our strengths with WeCare, we're making exoskeletons affordable…' The vision is to increase accessibility of this technology to adults, children, clinicians, and researchers alike. As of writing, the rental cost for professional facilities is €150 per day.
What ExoAtlet and WeCare MedLease pilot in healthcare can directly translate to all other exoskeleton applications. A well-developed HaaS program could have additional benefits, including the already mentioned reduction to the buyer's initial investment; it can allow for faster procurement and easier product lifecycle management.
Exoskeleton technology is an emerging solution at the intersection of ergonomics and mobility, characterized by a rapid product development cycle. New models are frequently released, making it challenging for buyers to keep pace. Similar to a car lease that allows the customer to always have the newest model on the road, a rental program can help keep only the latest models in use. The opposite is also true; changes to large manufacturing lines, like a new car model rolling through the assembly line, can make some ergonomic solutions obsolete. A HaaS model would resolve any risk to the buyer of purchasing exoskeletons that may not be needed in the future due to a production line change.
A hallmark of a true Hardware-as-a-Service model is that the exoskeleton vendor would be more involved with adopting, using, and maintaining the wearable devices. This would push the entire industry from a distribution model to an integrator one, which is not unusual for complex systems that must be integrated with processes and people. Distributors that don't have pilot, training, and maintenance capabilities will always have the option to hire third-party contractors and experts and bake their costs into the rental fees.
Only time will tell if the ExoAtlet and WeCare MedLease's agreement will be approached as a classical rental or a service. However, what is starting in the homes and clinics could create a brighter future across all exoskeleton technology applications.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

U.S. trade deal offers initial relief but leaves Europe on the backfoot
U.S. trade deal offers initial relief but leaves Europe on the backfoot

CNBC

time28 minutes ago

  • CNBC

U.S. trade deal offers initial relief but leaves Europe on the backfoot

After an initial sigh of relief at the U.S. and European Union avoiding further escalation by striking a trade agreement, concerns have grown that the framework deal is "unbalanced" and leaves Europe on the backfoot. The two trading partners on Sunday announced an agreement that includes a 15% tariff rate on most EU goods to the U.S. Some goods like aircraft components and certain chemicals are not set to be hit by tariffs, while autos will see duties reduced to the 15% rate. The agreement also includes provisions for the EU purchasing U.S. energy and increasing its investments in the country. The agreement halves the 30% tariff rate U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened the EU with and avoids any further escalation through for example countermeasures. Yet analysts and economists remain cautious as to the impact on both sides as negotiations are still set to take place. "It's a climb down from a much worse place," Cailin Birch, global economist at The Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC's "Europe Early Edition" on Monday. However, she noted, "a 15% tariff is still a big escalation from where we were pre-Trump 2.0." Birch also pointed out that a lot of uncertainty remains, with details about the steel and pharmaceutical sector still being unclear. European leaders struck similar notes overnight, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz saying that while the EU was able to protect its core interests, he would have welcomed further easing of transatlantic trade. France's minister for Europe, Benjamin Haddad, meanwhile said in a Google-translated social media post that while the deal would bring "temporary stability" to some sectors, it is "unbalanced" overall. Holger Schmieding, chief economist at Berenberg, warned that while the "crippling uncertainty" was over, the damage for Europe is more frontloaded in comparison to the long-term impact on the U.S. "The deal is asymmetric. The US gets away with a substantial increase in its tariffs on imports from the EU and has secured further EU concessions to boot. In his apparent zero-sum mentality, Trump can claim that as a "win" for him," he said. As it will take some time for U.S. consumers to feel the impact of tariffs, Trump's supporters may not immediately realize they are being hurt by the president's policies, Schmieding explained. This may encourage Trump to continue to pursue economic policies that are "bad" for the U.S., he added. The Economist Intelligence Unit's Birch meanwhile pointed out that the U.S. also did not get everything it may have wanted from the deal. "Both sides are, are kind of set back a bit from this deal," she said. "The U.S. didn't make any headway on a lot of issues that have in recent history been critical to their trade approach to the EU. So agricultural standards, the tech industry regulating standard that has been a big bugbear, there was no real mention of those standards whatsoever," Birch explained, acknowledging that the deal is not yet done.

Global Markets Welcome US-EU Trade Deal
Global Markets Welcome US-EU Trade Deal

Newsweek

time29 minutes ago

  • Newsweek

Global Markets Welcome US-EU Trade Deal

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Financial markets around the world welcomed a framework trade agreement on Monday between the United States and the European Union with a 15 percent U.S. tariff on most EU goods and billions of dollars of European investment. U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the agreement on Sunday at Trump's luxury golf course in Scotland following months of difficult negotiations. Why It Matters The deal averts a devastating trade war between the two economies, which represent the world's largest trade volume, encompassing hundreds of millions of people and trillions of dollars in commerce. Trump had this month threatened to impose a 30 percent tariff on goods from the E.U., which would have meant American consumers facing higher prices on everything from French cheese to German electronics and Spanish pharmaceuticals. The EU had prepared retaliatory tariffs on hundreds of American products, including beef, auto parts, beer and Boeing airplanes, which could have sent shock waves through global economies. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen after reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and the EU at the Trump Turnberry golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, on July 27. Jacquelyn Martin/AP What To Know The deal provides clarity for companies after months of uncertainty, and global markets breathed a sigh of relief as they opened on Monday, with stocks rising and the euro firmer. S&P 500 futures rose 0.4 percent, and the Nasdaq futures gained 0.5 percent while the euro firmed against the dollar, sterling and yen. European futures surged almost 1 percent. Under the deal, the EU seeks to invest some $600 billion in the U.S. and ramp up its purchases of U.S. military equipment and buy $750 billion worth of U.S. energy. "I think this is the biggest deal ever made," Trump told reporters in Scotland on Sunday. Von der Leyen described Trump as a tough negotiator. She told reporters that the 15 percent tariff, which applied "across the board," was "the best we could get." In Asia, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.27 percent early on Monday, just shy of the almost four-year high it touched last week. Japan's Nikkei index fell 0.8 percent after hitting a one-year high last week when Japan struck its own trade deal with the U.S., which also included a 15 percent U.S. tariff on Japanese goods. China's blue-chip stocks rose 0.3 percent on Monday morning, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index put on 0.75 percent. The Australian dollar, often seen as a proxy for risk appetite, was at $0.657 to the U.S. dollar, near an eight-month high set last week. What People Are Saying European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen told reporters: "We should not forget where we would have been on the first of August. We would have been at 30 percent, and it would have been much more difficult to get down now to the 15 percent. Fifteen percent is certainly a challenge for some, but we should not forget that it keeps us the access to the American market, and what we are also doing intensively is diversifying to other regions of the world." Prashant Newnaha, a senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD Securities, told Reuters: "A 15 percent tariff on European goods, forced purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment and zero tariff retaliation by Europe, that's not negotiation, that's the art of the deal. A big win for the U.S." Marc Velan, the head of investments at Lucerne Asset Management in Singapore, told Reuters: "A major tail-risk has now been defused. … Markets are interpreting this as a sign of stability and predictability returning to trade policy." What Happens Next Trade negotiators from the U.S. and China—the world's two largest economies—are due to meet in Stockholm on Monday. China is facing an August 12 deadline to reach an agreement with the Trump administration. Many other countries are racing to finalize deals before an August 1 deadline.

Russia's economy is now so militarized, it may keep expanding its army even after the Ukraine war
Russia's economy is now so militarized, it may keep expanding its army even after the Ukraine war

Business Insider

timean hour ago

  • Business Insider

Russia's economy is now so militarized, it may keep expanding its army even after the Ukraine war

Russia's war machine has become such an integral part of its economic engine that its military industry is likely to keep expanding even after the fighting in Ukraine ends, according to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "The end of hostilities will not lead to a radical cut-off of military investment," wrote CSIS analysts in a report published on Thursday. Now in its fourth year, Russia's war with Ukraine continues even as Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration weathers sweeping Western sanctions. And while cracks are starting to show, the Russian economy may still be able to sustain the war effort for several more years, the report said. Defense spending is set to hit a post-Soviet record of 6.3% of GDP in 2025 and could climb even higher despite mounting signs of economic slowdown or recession. "Russia's economy appears sustainable for the next few years," the CSIS analysts wrote. They forecast that the Kremlin could maintain its war of attrition through at least 2027. 'Russia could be preparing for some kind of future confrontation with NATO' The CSIS report comes amid renewed scrutiny of Russia's economy. Manufacturing activity contracted last month, and employment has suffered. GDP growth slowed to 1.4% in the first quarter, down sharply from 4.5% in the previous quarter. Still, Russia has defied expectations thanks to its growing military-industrial complex. "Having become the most sanctioned country in the world, it has managed to maneuver around many economic constraints, keeping revenues from energy sales high and its budget balanced, investing in the military and defense industry, ramping up domestic production of weapons and equipment, and boosting economic growth," wrote the think tank analysts. Crucially, the militarized economy has built a broad base of political and economic stakeholders — from elites to ordinary workers — who benefit from continued conflict. That makes any significant drawdown in military activity politically and economically unlikely. Even if a ceasefire is reached, Russia may still be able to rebuild and expand its armed forces over the next decade. "Russia's war-induced socioeconomic changes have been so significant that the process of societal militarization is unlikely to stop even if the war in Ukraine were to end," wrote the CSIS analysts. The Kremlin's strategic posture hasn't softened either. CSIS suggests Russia is preparing for a long-term confrontation with NATO, using the war to modernize its forces and test Western resolve. Beyond conventional arms, Russia has ramped up hybrid warfare, including cyberattacks, disinformation, sabotage, political meddling, and strikes on critical infrastructure. These tools allow Moscow to operate aggressively across multiple fronts. "Despite being inferior to NATO in terms of its conventional capabilities, today's Russia represents a bigger challenge to European security than it did at the start of 2022," the CSIS analysts wrote. The Kremlin is learning from past failures, adapting quickly, and growing more confident in what it sees as a West unwilling to stop it. "Moscow's ongoing large-scale military reforms signal that Russia could be preparing for some kind of future confrontation with NATO within roughly the next decade—including even a large-scale conventional war," they wrote.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store