It is a fantastic time for the field of robo-tic exoskeletons. Recent advances in actuators, sensors, materials, batteries, and compu-ter processors have given new hope to crea-ting the exoskeletons of yesteryear’s science fiction. While the most common goal of an exoskeleton is to provide superhuman strength or endurance, scientists and engineers around the world are building exoskeletons with a wide range of diverse purposes. Exoskeletons can help patients with neurological disabilities improve their motor perfor-mance by providing task specific practice. Exoskeletons can help physiologists better understand how the human body works by pro-viding a novel experimental perturbation. Exoskeletons can even help power mobile phones, music players, and other portable elec-tronic devices by siphoning mechanical work performed during human locomotion. This special thematic series on robotic lower limb exoskeletons and orthoses includes eight pa-pers presenting novel contributions to the field. The collective message of the papers is that robotic exoskeletons will contribute in many ways to the future benefit of humankind, and that future is not that distant.

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