Build a defensible exoskeleton maintenance schedule from documented specs: battery cycles, wearable-part replacement, telemetry and warranty gaps across five industrial systems.
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Editorial QA
Checked for sourced parameters, internal links and prohibited claims.
An exoskeleton maintenance schedule is the documented set of inspection, cleaning, part-replacement and battery-service intervals that keeps a device inside its certified condition. For industrial fleets, the schedule should be built from the manufacturer's service manual and the device's own telemetry, not from a generic calendar. In this dataset, only Cray X exposes usage telemetry and a hot-swappable battery; the passive systems disclose no connectivity, so their schedules must be paper-based.
Maintenance is where exoskeleton total cost of ownership is decided. A passive shoulder unit at 4,900 USD with no sensors and no data link depends on supervisor discipline; a powered back unit at 9,900 USD depends on battery rotation and software health. The two schedules are not the same document.
A schedule has four layers: daily pre-use checks, periodic inspection, consumable replacement and annual recertification. For passive exoskeletons the consumables are textiles, springs, straps and pads. For powered units they include the battery pack, charger, sensors and firmware. The schedule should name who performs each task, what evidence is recorded, and what takes the unit out of service.
ISO 13482, the safety standard for personal care robots, is referenced by Cray X, Skelex 360 and MATE-XT. It is a design and risk-assessment standard, not a maintenance interval table. Buyers who treat the CE mark as a maintenance plan are confusing conformity with serviceability.
| System | Drive | Weight | Battery / runtime | Connectivity | Warranty | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cray X (German Bionic) | Active | 7.6 kg | Lithium-ion, hot-swappable, 8 h, 2 h charge | Cray Visor app, cloud fleet dashboard, Bluetooth | Undisclosed | CE, ISO 13482 |
| Skelex 360 (Skelex) | Passive | 1.6 kg | Not applicable | Not applicable | 24 months | CE |
| MATE-XT (Comau) | Passive | 4.2 kg | Not applicable | Not applicable | Undisclosed | CE, ISO 13482 |
| Apex 2 (HeroWear) | Passive | 1.2 kg | Not applicable | Not applicable | 12 months | CE |
| AIRFRAME (Levitate Technologies) | Passive | 1.5 kg | Not applicable | Not applicable | Unknown | CE |
Only Cray X has a battery schedule to write. Its 8 h runtime and 2 h charge time imply a rotation plan if the site runs more than one shift. The passive units have no runtime parameter because they have no power source; their maintenance burden sits in mechanical wear and hygiene.
Cray X is the only active unit in this dataset. Its maintenance schedule must cover battery rotation (hot-swappable lithium-ion, 8 h runtime, 2 h charge), charger inspection, sensor and IMU function checks, firmware updates through the Cray Visor app, and cloud dashboard review. The 7.6 kg weight and carbon-fibre/aluminium frame mean frame inspection is a structural task, not a wipe-down. Because warranty is undisclosed, the buyer should request the warranty terms and the recommended service interval in writing before purchase.
These units carry no battery and no sensors. The schedule is visual inspection of springs, straps, pads and adjustment mechanisms, plus cleaning. Skelex 360 publishes a 24-month warranty; MATE-XT does not disclose one; AIRFRAME lists warranty as unknown. That difference matters because a 24-month warranty sets a floor for the replacement-parts budget, while an unknown warranty leaves the buyer exposed.
Apex 2 is a textile-based exosuit at 1.2 kg with a 12-month warranty. Its maintenance schedule is dominated by fabric and elastic-band inspection, sizing checks across XS–XXL, and replacement of worn bands. It has no connectivity, so usage cannot be logged automatically. A paper log per unit is the only defensible record.
The missing parameters are the schedule. No system in this dataset discloses a service interval, a spare-part price, a calibration procedure or a mean time between failures. Cray X lists warranty as undisclosed; MATE-XT lists warranty as undisclosed; AIRFRAME lists warranty as unknown. Apex 2 does not disclose its referenced standards, and AIRFRAME lists standards as unknown. These gaps matter because a maintenance schedule without a warranty term and a parts price is a wish list. The buyer cannot budget replacement batteries, straps or springs, and cannot compare a 12-month warranty against a 24-month warranty on a like-for-like basis. The absence of connectivity on all four passive units also means the manufacturer cannot remotely diagnose wear; every fault is found by a person.
Do not choose a passive exoskeleton if your site cannot sustain a paper-based inspection regime. Skelex 360, MATE-XT, Apex 2 and AIRFRAME have no sensors and no connectivity; their maintenance depends on supervisor discipline. If you need automatic usage logs, battery health data or remote diagnostics, only Cray X in this dataset offers them, and even Cray X does not disclose its warranty or service interval. Do not choose Cray X if you cannot support a 2 h charge cycle and a hot-swap process across shifts, or if you require a published warranty before signing. And do not choose any of these systems if your procurement rule requires a disclosed spare-part price list; none is supplied here.
Use the compare tool to put Cray X against Skelex 360 and MATE-XT on the disclosed specs, and the industrial category page for the full set. For a documented parameter request, contact the selection desk.
The dataset does not disclose service intervals for any system. The schedule must come from the manufacturer's service manual; buyers should request it in writing before purchase.
Yes. Skelex 360, MATE-XT, Apex 2 and AIRFRAME have no battery, but springs, straps, pads and textile components wear and must be inspected and replaced.
Skelex 360 discloses 24 months, the longest in this dataset. Apex 2 discloses 12 months; Cray X and MATE-XT are undisclosed; AIRFRAME is unknown.
Sources: manufacturer pages for German Bionic, Skelex, Comau, HeroWear and Levitate Technologies; ISO 13482 standard reference. All specifications from the ExoSelect database; undisclosed and unknown parameters are stated as such.
Editorial note
This analysis is based on published specifications and named sources. No first-party physical evaluation was performed.
Reviewed by the ExoSelect editorial desk
