BodyOS at IFA 2026: A Wearable Robotics Developer Platform

At IFA Berlin 2026, taking place September 4–8, Ascentiz will officially launch BodyOS™, our open wearable robotics developer platform.

The open-source BodyOS organizes robotic development across four layers, from the physical machine to reusable application tools. It connects open mechanical interfaces, software capabilities, and real-world use cases so more innovation can grow naturally on top of the platform.

Four Layers, One Build Path

BodyOS is built around modular design. Its physical structure, connected hardware, data access, and application software form four connected layers, each with a clear role in the build. Developers can enter at the layer closest to the problem they are solving. The mechanical interface shows how that modular logic works in practice by giving new components a defined place to connect to the body-worn system.

1. Start with the Mechanical Interface

The first layer is the body-worn structure itself. The Exo-Belt, Hip Module, Knee Module, control box, and button box are designed as removable, reconfigurable parts. The belt also provides a mechanical interface for work created outside Ascentiz.

A developer can design an attachment, produce it through 3D printing or CNC machining, and install it on the belt. A sensor mount, accessory carrier, protective structure, or another wearable component can therefore be tested on the existing platform without designing an entire exoskeleton around it.

2. Connect Sensors and Actuators

A physical attachment becomes part of a larger system when it can exchange signals or control hardware. The developer kit layer connects the exoskeleton with external sensors and actuators, while also supporting custom exoskeleton algorithms and functions.

B-core Pi 1 provides the dedicated computing and real-time control hardware for this work. Bluetooth, USB, RJ45, Camera, CAN FD, and RS485 interfaces create routes for connecting cameras, sensors, robotic arms, grippers, and other peripherals.

3. Work with Exoskeleton Data

Once hardware is connected, the next question is what the application can read and use. The open API layer gives qualified developers access to core exoskeleton sensor parameters and exoskeleton-specific parameters refined through years of algorithm development.

Those parameters can feed control logic, analysis, connected devices, and human-machine interactions. They turn the movement of the exoskeleton into data that another system can respond to.

4. Build through BodyOS and the SDK

The fourth layer brings the mechanical, hardware, and data capabilities into a developer system. As access expands, BodyOS and its SDK provide libraries, APIs, examples, and documentation that developers can call and reuse in their own work.

The four layers connect a real-world task to the platform. The task determines the attachment, device, data, and software it needs, and each part has a defined place to connect.

Why Open-Source BodyOS Matters for Wearable Robotics

Open-source projects create industry value when they turn foundational work into shared infrastructure. Wearable-robotics teams often rebuild the same basics—mechanical mounts, sensor connections, control interfaces, and software tools—before they can test the application that motivated the project. By opening these layers within one architecture, BodyOS makes more of that foundation reusable. An attachment, algorithm, or application developed by one team can become a starting point for the next instead of remaining an isolated prototype.

BodyOS also opens the development process to specialists who may never build an entire exoskeleton. Mechanical designers, hardware engineers, software developers, researchers, clinicians, rescue teams, and sports specialists can contribute at the layer they know best while working on the same platform. For wearable robotics, the long-term impact is a development model built around reusable components, common interfaces, and real-world use cases that keep extending the platform.

BodyOS Is Entering Its Co-Building Stage

BodyOS has just completed its alpha stage and is preparing to enter Builders Beta. Development of the DevKit and firmware is largely complete. The next major release work focuses on the SDK and APIs that developers will use to build around the platform.

As BodyOS enters its co-building stage, the Early Builder Program is now underway, inviting developers and researchers to work with the platform around concrete use cases.

The first call has received 36 qualified applications from more than ten countries and regions across North America, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania. The range extends beyond geography. Applicants come from robotics, software, hardware, clinical practice, rehabilitation, design, content creation, rescue services, and sports. What they bring is not an abstract notion of “user needs,” but concrete, real-world problems to solve.

Ready to build with BodyOS? Apply to the Early Builder Program.