¶ Skelex 360 exoskeleton
Recommended Technology
Description: Skelex 360 is a commercially available, passive upper‑body exoskeleton designed to reduce shoulder and arm strain during repetitive mid‑range and overhead tasks. It uses purely mechanical gravity‑balancing - requiring no power, sensors, or software - which makes it well suited to Australian forestry and nursery environments where work is physically demanding, dispersed, and poorly suited to complex automation. Its role is to augment manual labour, not replace it, and it is most applicable to silvicultural and nursery tasks rather than mechanised harvesting.
In forestry, Skelex 360 is relevant for manual planting and regeneration, young‑stand tending (such as pruning or guarding), and infrastructure‑related work that involves sustained arm elevation. These tasks remain labour‑intensive even in highly mechanised systems, particularly on steep or environmentally sensitive sites, and the exoskeleton can help extend endurance and reduce injury risk amid ongoing labour shortages. Tree nurseries represent an even clearer fit, as common activities like tray handling, inspection, spacing, and greenhouse work involve repetitive shoulder‑height movements. In these settings, Skelex 360 can reduce chronic strain, support longer productive shifts during peak seasons, and improve staff retention.
Skelex 360 is a TRL 9 technology with indicative pricing of $7,000 per unit and with minimal ongoing costs. It should be viewed as a practical, incremental ergonomic intervention that improves safety and workforce sustainability in parts of the forestry value chain that are likely to remain manual for the foreseeable future, complementing - rather than competing with - automation and digital systems.
Category: Safety & Worker Assistive Technologies
FWPA RD&E: 4.1
¶ Details
| Company | Country | Type | Website | Available in Australia? | Year | Status | Remarks | TRL | Employees | Colour | Inventors | Patent Model. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skelex | Netherlands | Company | Link | Green |