On July 16, 2022, Dr. Ding Ye, Founder and CEO of YuanYe Tech, officially unveiled the world’s first muscle exoskeleton at a new product launch event.This is the wearable rehabilitation robot launched by the YuanYe Tech team after three years and seven months of development, designed to enhance muscle performance during movement for individuals with mobility impairments, helping them perform physical movements more stably, effortlessly, and accurately. World’s First Exosuit Launch EventDr. Ding YeLecture At the press conference, renowned clinical expert Academician Li Jian'an andProf. Chen ShiyiExpressed congratulations to YuanYe Tech and its global first muscle exoskeleton product. Meanwhile, the main leaders of Suzhou Industrial Park Administrative Committee, Hillhouse Ventures,BV Baidu Venture Capital,Investors from renowned institutions such as Country Garden Venture Capital, Linear Capital, Qiaobei Capital, and Source Code Capital also attended the event. Professor Chen Shiyi, Counselor to the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, Director of the Institute of Sports Medicine at Fudan University, and Chief of the Department of Sports Medicine at Huashan Hospital, stated, “In addition to rehabilitation for individuals with disabilities, exoskeletons hold even broader application prospects in the rapidly growing market driven by population aging.” YuanYe Technology CEO Ding Ye, COO Sun Pengming, and Guests Jointly Unveil the World’s First Muscle Exoskeleton
Global Debut of Exoskeleton,
Gait Training Robot + Gait Analysis Tool 2-in-1
“It is a revolutionary wearable robot for gait training, and it is also a groundbreaking analytical tool for gait training.” Relink-ANK, a muscle exoskeleton independently developed by YuanYe Tech, is a novel lightweight wearable robotic device designed to assist in the rehabilitation of lower-limb motor function. It provides gait assessment and personalized rehabilitation training services for patients with lower-limb motor impairments.
In terms of specifications, the Relink-ANK exoskeleton weighs only about 3 kilograms, with a battery life that supports five consecutive hours of training. It is equipped with a high-performance central processing unit, distributed processors, inertial sensors, and force sensors.
The exceptional clinical outcomes not only establish the Relink-ANK Exoskeleton as a revolutionary product in the field of rehabilitation but also bring new hope to the vast patient population in China. According to statistical data from The Lancet, the number of people in China with rehabilitation needs reached 460 million in 2019. Among them, there were approximately 13 million stroke patients and 24.72 million individuals with physical disabilities. “A Review of Research on Lower Limb Muscle Dysfunction in Patients with Hemiplegia after Stroke” shows that 50%-80% of stroke patients have varying degrees of lower limb dysfunction six months after onset, affecting their quality of life. For the large number of patients with rehabilitation needs, such as those suffering from stroke, China faces a scarcity of rehabilitation institutions and therapists. Fortunately,YuanYe Technology’s Relink-ANK Exoskeleton Will Help Alleviate the Scarcity of Rehabilitation Resources in China。 For example, the Relink-ANK exoskeleton is extremely simple to don and use, thereby freeing up rehabilitation therapists’ resources. In terms of donning, patients can independently put on the device with ease within one minute and remove it within 10 seconds. Regarding usage, patients can commence rehabilitation training without additional instruction and do not require dedicated supervision during sessions.With the Relink-ANK muscle exoskeleton, therapists will be able to serve multiple patients simultaneously. It should be noted that the Relink-ANK exoskeleton alleviates critical pain points in China’s rehabilitation industry by achieving technological breakthroughs in materials, actuators, and algorithms.
Three Major Breakthroughs in Materials, Actuators, and Algorithms
Exoskeletons: Lightweight and Comfortable, Intelligently Customized, Precisely Assistive
Prior to this, exoskeleton rehabilitation robots had already entered the market. However, traditional exoskeleton rehabilitation robots suffer from drawbacks such as bulky size, heavy equipment, high cost, and inferior rehabilitation outcomes compared to active training modalities, making them difficult to meet clinical needs. To address these pain points, Yuanye Technology has overcome challenges in materials, actuators, and algorithms, enabling its muscle exoskeleton to achieve lightweight comfort, intelligent customization, and precise assistance. Material Innovation for Lightweight Comfort In terms of materials, the Relink-ANK exomuscle utilizes a bionic carbon fiber scaffold. Dr. Ding Ye stated, “Wearing the bionic carbon fiber brace is akin to putting on a pair of rain boots, with users hardly feeling any restriction. A single rain boot weighs approximately 700 grams, whereas the bionic carbon fiber brace weighs only about 480 grams, potentially impacting natural body movements even less than some rain boots.” Data indicate that, under conditions of equal mass, the strength of carbon fiber is approximately five times that of steel. Consequently, although bionic carbon fiber scaffolds are extremely lightweight, they exhibit exceptionally high strength. Meanwhile, the biomimetic carbon fiber scaffold adoptsIntegrated Bionic Design, not only optimizing the overall structure and ergonomic design of the exoskeleton, but also reducing the material usage and thickness required for the device, thereby simplifying the structure of the muscular exoskeleton and significantly reducing its weight. Leveraging breakthroughs in materials technology, YuanYe Tech’s Relink-ANK muscle exoskeleton is lighter and more comfortable than traditional exoskeleton rehabilitation robots. Deep Learning Technology Enables Intelligent Customization At the press conference, Dr. Ding Ye also stated, “After more than a decade of human-machine collaboration experiments, we have developed a supporting machine learning-based intelligent algorithm that can intelligently customize the assistance mode based on individual users and their gait patterns.” Based on intelligent machine learning algorithms, the exoskeleton provides appropriate power assistance during walking regardless of the patient’s speed or direction, and automatically adjusts in real time according to their gait, achieving intelligent customization. Hardware + Software, Delivering Precision Assistance In addition to being lightweight and comfortable, the muscle exoskeleton utilizes inertial sensors, distributed processors, a central processing unit (CPU), and a force feedback control system to understand user intent and provide appropriate power assistance. Specifically, multiple inertial sensors are distributed across the exoskeleton device to detect motion signals such as acceleration and angular velocity of different body parts in real time. Secondly, the distributed processor architecture analyzes and interprets these human motion signals in real time, comprehending the body's past and current movements and states, and predicting future actions. Furthermore, the high-speed central processing unit formulates personalized assistance strategies based on this information and delivers assistive force through closed-loop control by driving cables via actuators and force sensors. Finally,Yuanye Technology has developed a precise force feedback control system that can provide patients with appropriate physical assistance at the right time in highly dynamic environments, achieving precision-assisted support. It is worth noting that there is a general clinical consensus: compared with traction-based passive training,Higher Clinical Benefits of Active Patient Training. YuanYe Tech’s muscle exoskeleton, leveraging technologies such as intelligent customization and precise assistance, enables patients to perform corresponding active training while walking freely. Assembling Top Talent from Renowned Universities Worldwide: Interdisciplinary Teams Join Forces to Break Through Foundational Technologies As can be seen, the distinctive features of the Relink-ANK exoskeleton—namely its lightweight comfort, intelligent customization, precise assistance, and active training capabilities—all stem from innovations in its underlying technologies. However, these innovations are easier said than done. For instance, the bionic carbon fiber exoskeleton frame of the muscle exosuit, as one of the most complex carbon fiber structural components on the market, took YuanYe Tech and its suppliers more than two years to gradually refine the production processes and manufacturing techniques. We believe that the reason YuanYe Tech was able to develop the world’s first exo-muscle suit and achieve breakthroughs in underlying technologies is because itsPossesses Strong R&D and Innovation Capabilities。 Publicly available information indicates that the R&D team at YuanYe Tech comprises members from renowned domestic and international institutions, including Harvard University, MIT, Columbia University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Covering disciplines such as artificial intelligence algorithms, human-computer interaction design, data science, and biomedical engineering, the team represents a complementary, interdisciplinary, and comprehensive research group. Regarding this new product launch, Dr. Ding Ye stated: “YuanYe Technology aims to bring a more positive, joyful, and independent life to more people through cutting-edge technology, helping individuals with mobility impairments improve their quality of life and enjoy the freedom of walking.” In the future, Yuanye Technology will be dedicated to applying technologies such as big data and cloud computing to develop personalized, scientific gait training programs for stroke patients and middle-aged and elderly individuals in hospitals, communities, and homes. By leveraging a model that integrates technology, the internet, and rehabilitation, the company aims to alleviate the family burden of every individual with mobility impairments.
