WIRobotics (We Innovate Robotics) is a Korean wearable-robot company launched in June 2021 by four robotics engineers from Samsung Electronics. Its co-CEOs are Lee Yeon-baek and Kim Yong-jae (a professor at Korea University of Technology and Education). Its flagship 'WIM (We Innovate Mobility)' is a walking-assist wearable robot weighing just 1.6 kg that can be put on or taken off in 30 seconds; it analyzes the user's gait in real time and delivers AI-personalized assistance. It has several modes—assist, resistance, uphill, slow-walk—and a dedicated app supports strengthening walking ability (rehab/fitness) from long-term musculoskeletal data. It also develops the non-powered waist-supporting 'WIBS' and the general-purpose humanoid 'ALLEX.' Under the banner 'one robot per person,' its main users are older people, those with walking difficulty, and lower-limb rehabilitation patients. It has won the CES Innovation Award for three consecutive years—2024 (two categories: Robotics and Accessibility & Aging Tech), 2025, and 2026 (WIM KIDS for growing children)—and operates in Korea, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands and China.
●●○ medium
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
WIRobotics: A 1.6 kg wearable robot to walk 'on your own feet' again. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q2; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
One person’s story (N1)
+ before → after
An older person anxious about walking. Stairs, slopes and long distances had receded, and going out itself had become burdensome. Putting on the 1.6 kg WIM in 30 seconds, the AI reads each step and returns natural assistance. In WIRobotics' four-week trial for older people, physical function—walking speed, endurance, lower-limb strength—was reported to improve by 78% (in-house trial, requires independent verification). Of the children's WIM KIDS, guardians said it 'brings back the will to walk on one's own feet.' Nature of the source: in-house trial plus independent CES recognition.
Source nature: WIRobotics / CES / PR Newswire / P1 Third-party evaluation (CES) / in-house trial. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The walking-assist wearable WIM won the CES Innovation Award for three straight years—2024 (two categories: Robotics and Accessibility & Aging Tech), 2025, and 2026 (WIM KIDS for growing children, Digital Health category). An independent recognition of design and innovation.P1 Third-party evaluation (CES Innovation Award) / CES / PR Newswire
- Founded in June 2021 by four Samsung Electronics robotics engineers. WIM has sold 500 units in Korea and partners with Samsung Noble County (a senior facility) and government welfare centers on walking support for preventive senior rehab. It also operates in Japan, Italy, the Netherlands and China.P3 Trade media / company disclosure / Robotico / PR Newswire
− effects (confirmed)
- No confirmed −.
- I
- n
- d
- e
- p
- e
- n
- d
- e
- n
- t
- v
- e
- r
- i
- f
- i
- c
- a
- t
- i
- o
- n
- o
- f
- e
- f
- f
- e
- c
- t
- (
- t
- h
- i
- r
- d
- -
- p
- a
- r
- t
- y
- c
- o
- n
- f
- i
- r
- m
- a
- t
- i
- o
- n
- o
- f
- t
- h
- e
- c
- o
- m
- p
- a
- n
- y
- '
- s
- 7
- 8
- %
- -
- i
- m
- p
- r
- o
- v
- e
- m
- e
- n
- t
- c
- l
- a
- i
- m
- )
- ;
- p
- r
- i
- c
- e
- a
- c
- c
- e
- s
- s
- i
- b
- i
- l
- i
- t
- y
- ;
- l
- o
- n
- g
- -
- t
- e
- r
- m
- o
- u
- t
- c
- o
- m
- e
- s
- ;
- e
- v
- a
- l
- u
- a
- t
- i
- o
- n
- i
- n
- m
- e
- d
- i
- c
- a
- l
- /
- r
- e
- h
- a
- b
- i
- l
- i
- t
- a
- t
- i
- o
- n
- s
- e
- t
- t
- i
- n
- g
- s
- .
- Partnerships with elder-care and rehab facilities and governments; commercializing WIM KIDS; market expansion into the US, Europe and Japan; the general-purpose humanoid ALLEX.
A second look
The core plus is support for mobility and walking (People); the direction toward its targets (older people, people with disability, rehab patients, children) is clear, with independent recognition in the CES Innovation Award. That said, the CES award mainly evaluates design and innovation, not effect. Figures such as '78% improvement in physical function in four weeks' are company-reported; independent verification with a control group is unconfirmed. It is a relatively new product that ramped up in 2024; price, adoption and long-term effect are still ahead.
Sources
How to read this assessment
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the story an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q2 | Back to top