Mawashi Science & Technology

Mawashi Science & Technology is a Canadian company based in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, that designs and manufactures passive exoskeletons and other wearable equipment for soldiers and industrial workers. Founded in 2003, it first supplied the defense, law enforcement and correctional services sectors with protective and training equipment. In 2014 it was selected by U.S. Special Operations Forces for an exoskeleton development project, which the company describes as the turning point that took it into exoskeletons.

Its defense product is UPRISE (Ultralight Passive Ruggedized Integrated Soldier Exoskeleton), a patented, unpowered load-bearing exoskeleton whose first generation was introduced in 2017 for testing by armed forces. UPRISE carries the weight of a rucksack, body armor and other equipment around the body and down to the ground through leg struts that connect to a sole insert inside the boot. Mawashi states a load transfer to the ground of 25 to 70 percent in static and dynamic conditions and claims lower metabolic cost, reduced knee cartilage compression measured by MRI, and reduced musculoskeletal stress. It targets general infantry, special operations units wearing full-body ballistic protection, and explosive ordnance disposal specialists. An earlier report in European Defence Review, written while a size-adaptable version was still planned for March 2019, described a version weighing 8 kg that moved 50 to 80 percent of the load from the shoulders to the ground while walking and almost all of it while standing guard, a Canadian Army contract covering 12 systems with iterative development based on user feedback, interest from the United States, Australia, Singapore and France, and a NATO effort to standardize integration of the exoskeleton into EOD suits. UPRISE was among the systems tested at the second workshop of a European exoskeleton evaluation programme. The company says UPRISE has been chosen by six armed forces and is endorsed by the Pentagon.

For civilian markets Mawashi developed the UPLIFT family of passive muscle-assist exoskeletons, starting development in 2019 and launching UPLIFT commercially in June 2023. UPLIFT Modular is built from three modules - a back module that is required and carries the controls, plus optional leg and shoulder modules - sold separately so that one system can be configured four ways depending on the task. Assistance levels can be adjusted in real time and switched on or off with a manual control. UPLIFT Lite is a lighter 1.6 kg (3.5 lb) passive model with variable assistance and quick on/off control. Mawashi markets UPLIFT to construction and masonry, manufacturing, food and beverage, textiles, and material handling and logistics, citing up to 40 percent greater physical endurance, and it sells through a distributor network with a public distributor locator and a distributor recruitment programme.

The company also produces T-RED individual protective training equipment for combat simulation, and it runs a human factors laboratory that offers research and development services: measuring metabolic consumption and muscle activation, analyzing data, writing recommendation reports, and supporting product design and performance assessment in areas including exoskeletons, soldier equipment, personal protective equipment, textiles, biomimicry, load carriage and human augmentation. Mawashi takes an active part in the ASTM F48 committee on exoskeletons and exosuits.

None of Mawashi's current exoskeletons are motorized: they rely on mechanical structures and spring or elastic elements rather than batteries and actuators, which matters for users who need equipment that works without charging in the field or on a job site. The company's roadmap for UPRISE envisions a modular base frame onto which active, quasi-passive or passive subsystems could be attached.