Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

-0001

2013

  • Work on this object began.

2014

2015

2025

  • You found it!

Bionic Suit, Hybrid Ekso Bionic Suit/3D Systems Personal Ekso Prototype

This is a Bionic suit. It was designed by Scott Summit.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from 3D Systems as part of Beautiful Users.

It is dated 2013. Its medium is laser-sintered polyamide, aluminum.

The Hybrid Ekso Bionic Suit is a visionary, functional prototype custom-built for Amanda Boxtel, whose legs were paralyzed in a skiing accident in 1992. The suit uses a supported structure, a network of mechanical actuators and controls, and customized 3D-printed body components to explore the different ways one might enable a user to walk again.

It is credited Courtesy of 3D Systems and Ekso Bionics.

Its dimensions are

H x W x D: 165.1 × 35.6 × 30.5 cm, 27.2 kg (5 ft. 5 in. × 14 in. × 12 in., 60 lb.)

We have 2 videos that feature Bionic Suit, Hybrid Ekso Bionic Suit/3D Systems Personal Ekso Prototype.

Hybrid Ekso Bionic Suit Demo

A demonstration of the Ekso Bionic Suit in use by an otherwise wheelchair-bound person.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Beautiful Users.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/68782471/ |title=Bionic Suit, Hybrid Ekso Bionic Suit/3D Systems Personal Ekso Prototype |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=20 March 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>