Marsi Bionics develops the most innovative technology in walking exoskeletons
Marsi Bionics (Marsi) is an SME founded in 2013 as a spin-off from the Centro de Automática y Robótica (CAR), a joint centre of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). Since 2019 the CSIC is part of iMarsi shareholders. It is recognized as a Technology Based Company (TBC) with a high impact on the development of disruptive technologies for the health sector.
Its activity is focused on the development of lower limb exoskeletons for medical and industrial applications. Based on an innovative proprietary technology called ARES, Marsi’s products have active joints with variable stiffness that mimic natural muscle function, providing safety and control over the complex joint symptoms of neurological diseases, while offering a stable gait pattern on any surface. This technology is protected by three international patents.
MARSI’s products are modular (from single-joint active orthoses to complete trunk-ship-knee-ankle-foot exoskeletons) and are designed for the rehabilitation of a wide range of pathologies affecting more than 40 million patients worldwide.
Since its foundation until the end of 2020, the main activity of the company has been focused on the industrialization and certification of exoskeletons as medical devices, until obtaining the CE marking by the notified bodies, authorization for their commercialization across Europe. The end of this phase allows the commercialization and use of exoskeletons in controlled environments, i.e. hospitals and specialized therapy centers.
In parallel to this activity, Marsi is also involved in innovation, mainly focused on improving the performance of current exoskeletons for private and domestic use. To address this objective, Marsi Bionics is immersed in R+D+i projects financed by public and private organizations in competitive calls.
Marsi Bionics has received numerous awards for its technological innovation and social impact, including the CEPYME 2015 Award for the Best Entrepreneurial Project from the hands of King Philip VI, the FENIN 2017 Award for Entrepreneurship in Healthcare Technology, or the Discapnet Award from the ONCE Foundation 2019, presented by H.M. Queen Letizia.
Marsi Bionics is also one of the SMEs of the Europe of the Future by participating in the European Commission’s SME Instrument (H2020 SME Instrument Phase 2)
Marsi Bionics emerges as a spin-off from the Centre for Automation and Robotics (CAR), a joint centre between the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). More than 20 years of know-how in robot locomotion have been transferred to this SME, which now exploits and returns to society the results of research into robotic aids to locomotion and walking rehabilitation. A solid training in locomotion robotics has been inherited from CAR, such as gait generation, control of contact with different soils, variable stiffness joint actuation, stable locomotion in natural terrain, dynamic balance control and the robustness of the gait in case of disturbances.