McMaster University
We buildexoskeletonsthat walk.
A student-run team of 50+ engineers designing, machining and coding a powered lower-limb exoskeleton from scratch every year — then putting it on a pilot and competing with it.
- Members across 5+ disciplines
- 50+Members across 5+ disciplines
- Suits built from scratch
- 2Suits built from scratch
- At ACE, two years running
- 5thAt ACE, two years running
What we build
A powered lower-limb exoskeleton, built from nothing each year.
Every season the team starts from a blank CAD file and ends with a suit a pilot can walk, climb stairs and run an obstacle course in. Four subteams own it end to end — no kits, no off-the-shelf chassis.
- MechanicalThe structure that carries the load — joints, linkages, and the frame that has to fit a real person.
- ElectricalPower, sensing and the safety cutoffs — everything between the battery and the actuators.
- SoftwareThe control loop — reading the pilot's intent and turning it into torque.
- Health & SafetyHazard analysis and the competition safety case — the work that lets us put a person in the suit.
Competition
ACE — Applied Collegiate Exoskeleton
A cross-university competition where undergraduate teams put the exoskeletons they built onto a pilot and run them through first responder tasks. Suits are judged on engineering design and safety before they are allowed on the course at all.
Our record
- 5thACE 2026Hosted at McMaster · Second year competing
- 5thACE 2025Hosted at U. Michigan · First year competing
The events
- Design Review
- Judged presentation of the engineering behind the suit.
- Safety Check
- The suit is cleared for a pilot before it runs anything.
- Don/Doff Test
- How fast a pilot can get into and out of the suit.
- Emergency Doff
- Removing the suit under simulated emergency conditions.
- Stair Climbing
- Powered ascent and descent under the pilot's own control.
- Obstacle Course
- Full first-responder agility run against the clock.
Watch
See the suit actually move.
Photos only get you so far with a walking machine. This is the build and the competition run, start to finish.
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Our sponsors
Every actuator, PCB and machined part on the suit is paid for by people who decided a student team was worth backing.
Build it with us
No experience required — we teach. If you want to machine parts, lay out boards or write control code, there is a place for you.
Back the build
Sponsors fund the actuators, PCBs and machined parts — and get in front of 50+ engineering students in return.