This wearable $2,000 AI exoskeleton wants to turn your legs into hybrid hardware

A $2,000 motorized exoskeleton is now available for hikers who want a little extra push, quite literally.

Hypershell's X Ultra S wraps around the waist and thighs, using dual hip-mounted motors drawing up to 1,000 watts to actively drive each step forward. An AI system called "HyperIntuition" reads your stride in real time and adjusts how much assistance to apply, moment by moment.

The results are genuinely interesting on uphill terrain, stairs, and soft sand, where fatigue normally sets in fast. But the system stumbles, figuratively speaking, on descents, where users must manually switch modes, and during quick directional changes, where the AI can feel like it's briefly steering you rather than helping you.

Battery range tops out around 18 miles, and the device carries real physical risks if mishandled.

The technology is functional, occasionally impressive, but not yet seamless. It's early days for AI that doesn't just think, but physically pushes back.