Great news for aging populations and folks with mobility issues: Lower-body exoskeletons are having a moment, with multiple designs in development. Hyundai's H-MEX is designed to allow paraplegics to walk:

Its sister product, the X-ble MEX, is for rehabilitating those who could previously walk but have suffered an injury:

KAIST's WalkOn Suit F1 walks itself over to wheelchair users, and essentially installs itself on the wearer's body:

Startup Skip's MO/GO are essentially powered pants, designed to make it easier for those who can walk, but have difficulty, to ascend or descend hills or stairs:

All of those designs require some level of fitment to the user. But researchers at Germany's Technical University of Munich (TUM) have developed an innovative soft exoskeleton that can be applied over one's clothes. It consists of a harness and waist belt that can be worn like a hiking backpack.

The user then wraps a textile harness around each thigh:

These two sensors are attached to the thigh wraps.

Here you can see the small motors on the back of the harness.

These motors are connected to thin cables that attach to the front of the leg wraps.

So the way it works is, the user begins to walk, and the sensors precisely measure one's gait. Then you can turn the motors on and have them provide a power assist. They do this by tensioning each cable the appropriate amount, essentially pulling your leg forward.

The system is designed for people who have difficulty walking, but do not yet require a rollator/walker.

[The] system is especially useful for people who are somewhat frail but do not yet need a rollator. [Additionally], older people as well as those weakened by illness, for example with a weak heart or lung disease, [are] a target group for development. "Walking helps them to improve their metabolism, which in turn may have a positive effect on their illness," says TUM Professor Lorenzio Masia. The fact that users can be out and about for longer makes them more mobile and independent overall. This in turn can have a positive impact on their quality of life.

"WalkOn looks more like clothing and is no bigger than a small rucksack overall," says doctoral student Enrica Tricomi, who has gradually developed the system into its present form over the past four years.

Here's Tricomi demonstrating the system:

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Prof Lorenzo Masia is convinced that in the future, a modular system will be created that users can put together themselves: "In a few years, you will buy a pair of shorts, attach a motor to them and plug in two cables. The system will then be ready to take you into the mountains."