Shift Robotics
"Move more, live more"
Austin maker, founded 2017 with CMU roots, of Moonwalkers gait-adaptive motorized shoes reaching 7 mph with 6-7 mile range; TIME Best Inventions 2023.
Shift Robotics, Inc. designs and sells Moonwalkers, motorized strap-on footwear that increases walking speed. Each shoe has a battery-powered, motorized wheel drivetrain and on-board sensors, and the control software detects the wearer's gait and matches the drive to the walking pace, so the user keeps walking normally instead of standing and rolling. The company says Moonwalkers let users walk up to 250% faster with less effort, and to climb stairs the wearer lifts a heel to lock the wheels.
Founder and CEO Xunjie Zhang graduated from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, where he worked on bipedal locomotion. Dave Mawhinney and Randy Sargent are also named as founders. The company was founded in 2017 and started in Pittsburgh with a core team of six engineers; it is now based in Austin, Texas. The website says the team includes people who previously worked at Carnegie Mellon, the University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, Nike, DJI, Rolls-Royce and Tesla, with backgrounds in exoskeletons and humanoid robotics, footwear design, motor and battery control, and manufacturing.
In October 2022 a Kickstarter campaign raised $329,409 from 570 backers. About 1,000 additional pre-orders followed in early 2023. The company has raised two seed rounds since 2018, with investors including PP Ventures. TIME named Moonwalkers one of its Best Inventions of 2023. A lighter second-generation version, Moonwalker X, was shown at CES 2024; around then the CEO said the company was also targeting warehouse and third-party-logistics workers.
The original Moonwalkers ($1,399) have 8 powered wheels, a 400 W rated drivetrain, 10 Nm maximum torque, field-oriented motor control, a top speed of 7 mph and a range of 6 to 7 miles. They use a 3.0 Ah battery that charges fully in 1.5 hours or to 80% in 30 minutes; each shoe weighs 5.2 lb, the weight limit is 220 lb (100 kg), and the rating is IPX4. Moonwalkers Aero ($999) is a lighter four-wheel-drive version with a 350 W rated drivetrain, 8 Nm torque, the same 7 mph top speed and 6 to 7 mile range, and 4.2 lb per shoe; the company says it is 20 dB quieter than the first generation, at 50 dB. Moonwalkers Dusk is described as the lightest Moonwalkers yet, in three sizes and three colors, with a waitlist announced to open on September 29. The ShiftAI app for iOS and Android runs ShiftOS 3.1 and offers custom control, preset profiles, a real-time connection to the shoes and gait detection.
Moonwalkers have been covered by the TODAY Show, The Verge, Wired, The Guardian, TIME and Reuters.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Moonwalkers
Original 8-wheel gait-adaptive motorized shoes, 7 mph top speed, rugged and trail capable.
Moonwalkers Aero
Lighter, quieter 4-wheel-drive Moonwalkers for urban walking, 4.2 lb per shoe.
Moonwalkers Dusk
Upcoming lightest Moonwalkers model, offered in three sizes and three colors; waitlist announced.
ShiftAI app
iOS/Android companion app for Moonwalkers with custom control, preset profiles and gait detection.
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Contact Shift Robotics
WEBSITE
https://shiftrobotics.io/HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2017
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
employees 1-10
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
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