Marsi bionics

Marsi Bionics, founded in 2013, is a Spanish medical robotics company that develops and commercializes wearable exoskeletons for patients with neurological conditions and mobility issues. The company originated as a spin-off from the Center for Automation and Robotics (CAR), a joint center of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM). The CSIC has been a shareholder in the company since 2019.

The company was founded by Dr. Elena García Armada, a renowned roboticist with a PhD in Industrial Engineering. Her career shifted focus after a 2009 meeting with a young girl left quadriplegic by an accident, which inspired her to engineer pediatric robotic exoskeletons. This led to the creation of Marsi Bionics to transfer the research into societal solutions.

Marsi Bionics' core business is designing and building modular gait exoskeletons for medical applications, serving clients in hospitals and rehabilitation centers. Its products are aimed at improving mobility and quality of life for children and adults with conditions like spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), cerebral palsy, and hemiplegia caused by stroke. A key patented technology is ARES, a system that provides variable stiffness to the robotic joints, mimicking natural muscle function to personalize gait therapy. The company's main products include the ATLAS 2030, the world's first pediatric exoskeleton for overground walking, and the MB-Active Knee (MAK), a single-joint orthosis for adults. The ATLAS 2030 is adjustable for a child's growth and features smart joints that interpret the user's intended movements. In May 2021, the device received its CE marking, enabling its distribution in Spain and internationally.

Keywords: medical robotics, exoskeletons, pediatric rehabilitation, gait therapy, neuromuscular diseases, mobility assistance, spinal muscular atrophy, controllable stiffness, assistive technology, robotic orthoses