A McMaster pilot navigating a balance obstacle in the powered exoskeleton at ACE 2026, with teammates alongside.

McMaster University · Student design team

Built to
move us
forward.

We’re McMaster Exoskeleton. Students designing wearable robotics through mechanical engineering, electronics, embedded controls and machine learning.

Find your place Partner with us

Built here. Put to the test.ACE 2026 / McMaster University

Student members: 50+
Specialist subteams: 6
Engineering divisions: 3

Meet McMaster Exo

01 / Engineering with purpose

A little ambition.
A lot of engineering.
A real step forward.

We design and build powered lower-limb exoskeletons at McMaster University. That means a wearable machine with actuated hips and knees, built to help a pilot move through the world.

Our students connect mechanical structures, motion sensing and control software in one wearable system. The Applied Collegiate Exoskeleton competition brings that work out of the workshop and onto the course.

Meet the people behind it

Designed. Machined. Wired. Programmed.Student-built, from the ground up.

The 2025 McMaster exoskeleton showing its control pack, wiring and powered leg joints. — 01 / Knee assemblyActual team hardware

02 / Inside the exoskeleton

One suit.
Every discipline.

Fit the person. Guide the movement.

The mechanical division has two subteams: Waist and Linkages. Waist develops the module that carries the electronics and interfaces with the pilot; Linkages develops the joints, moving structure and mounting hardware that follow the pilot’s legs.

Waist
Linkages

Explore mechanical

Read about all six subteams

03 / Beyond the workshop

Our competition story

The real test
is out there.

A pilot. A powered suit. Stairs, obstacles and a clock. At ACE, the work of an entire year meets the real world.

5^th

OVERALL AT ACE

2025 & 2026
Two builds. Two top-five finishes.

ACE 2026 at McMaster

McMaster team members checking the exoskeleton outdoors before an ACE 2026 event. — 01 / 03Every run starts with the team.

04 / Your people. Your next challenge.

Six subteams. Three divisions.

Bring your curiosity.
Find your challenge.
Build with us.

From 3D-printed waist modules to embedded firmware and predictive models, there are different ways to contribute. Explore the responsibilities and experience expected for each subteam.

Build with us Explore the subteams and apply

McMaster Exoskeleton students gathered with their pilot and suit outside the engineering building at ACE 2026. — More than a design team.McMaster Exo / ACE 2026

Learn by buildingCAD, circuits, code and model development.

Find your communityWork alongside students who share your curiosity.

See your work moveConnect your work to a wearable machine.

05 / Made possible together

Big ideas need
people behind them.

Our partners help turn student ambition into working hardware. Their support puts actuators on the suit, tools in our hands and the team on the competition floor.

Meet all our sponsors