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[COMPANY+] FRT Robotics Offers an Answer to Firefighter Musculoskeletal Injuries with Muscle-Assist Robots
Firefighters move through disaster scenes performing high-risk, high-intensity physical movements dozens or hundreds of times a day. In pushing their bodies to save even one more person, many end up suffering musculoskeletal disorders.
Even without generating superhuman strength like an Iron Man suit, what if every firefighter could wear an advanced wearable robot that prevents injury? That may no longer be wishful thinking.
FRT Robotics develops and manufactures exoskeletons, a type of wearable robot. An exoskeleton is a muscle-assist robot in external-frame form, worn on the body. It reduces physical burden and assists muscle strength when workers lift heavy objects or perform repetitive tasks.
CEO Jang Jae-ho, who leads FRT Robotics, is an engineer who has been at the forefront of Korea's robotics field since its early days.
He earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Hanyang University in 2008 and immediately joined the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) as a researcher in its robotics group. There, he began Korea's first exoskeleton research.
Building on more than eight years of research results, he received approval for concurrent employment and founded the company in 2015. After roughly six years of holding both positions, he left the institute and now devotes himself full-time to management and technology development.
FRT Robotics has grown rapidly on the strength of conviction in new technology and a commitment to innovation. It has successfully commercialized its flagship StepUp series across industrial, rehabilitation, and care applications, and accumulated technical capability through national R&D programs and numerous demonstration projects.
The company initially focused its technology development on industrial site applications. Today, FRT Robotics anticipates expansion into the public sector. Its products have already been designated Innovative Procurement Products by the Public Procurement Service, with delivery records to the National Fire Agency, the Korea Forest Service, and the military.
119Plus sat down with CEO Jang Jae-ho, who says he wants to "repay firefighters' dedication with technology that provides real, practical help."
What drew you to exoskeletons?
I judged it to be the technology that could most directly solve problems at industrial sites. Many people at industrial sites experience musculoskeletal pain and injury, yet there were few realistic means of fundamentally reducing it.
An exoskeleton is not a robot that replaces people — it assists human movement and relieves physical burden. I saw it as a field-friendly solution precisely because it can help simply by being worn, without interrupting work.
Tell us about the StepUp series.
It is a line of exoskeleton products that assist muscle strength according to the user's movement and posture. The core is supporting lower-back strength to reduce musculoskeletal fatigue and injury risk. It assists movements common at work sites — repetitive carrying, waist bending — allowing users to work stably for longer periods.
The StepUp series has evolved across several generations. Recent models in particular apply lightweight, slim, and modular design, giving them strong wearing comfort and field applicability. We have also incorporated technologies such as user intent and state prediction algorithms to enable more natural, intuitive support.
Most recently, we launched StepUp NEO, which assists muscle strength through a passive mechanism. Because its structure does not depend on electricity or batteries, it offers the advantages of extended wear and low maintenance costs.
That said, no single solution fits every work environment. Tasks requiring greater force, or performed in specialized environments, call for motor-based assistance or environmental control functions through sensor integration.
We therefore produce customized products that flexibly combine passive, active, and sensor-based solutions according to the industrial environment and the nature of the work. Designing and applying products with actual field requirements as the starting point — that, I believe, is FRT Robotics' core competitiveness.
You've also moved into public-sector fields such as firefighting.
Firefighters are repeatedly exposed to heavy loads and hazards in fire suppression, rescue, and equipment transport. Yet the equipment available to assist them is limited. We judged that technology capable of substantially reducing firefighters' physical burden in high-risk, high-intensity work environments was needed.
We conducted demonstrations with the National Fire Agency and the Korea Forest Service in 2025. The demonstrated product completed technical verification through a national R&D project and, registered as an Innovative Procurement Product, achieved sales of 360 units. This marks a stage beyond simple prototyping — recognition of real field applicability — and discussions on expanding distribution are now under way.
On February 10, we were invited to the Korean Association for Public Administration winter conference, where we presented approaches to applying exoskeletons in public and disaster response fields. We focused in particular on effectiveness confirmed in the field through demonstrations with government agencies, and the response was very strong.
In truth, the public sector — government agencies such as fire services — is a smaller market than the industrial sector. Frankly speaking, the profit is not large relative to the effort. We nevertheless work to develop customized solutions for firefighters and deploy them in the field because we feel a debt of gratitude.
Firefighters dedicate themselves day and night to the safety of our society. That dedication sustains our safe daily lives. As an engineer, I believe the greatest way to repay them is ultimately to provide technology that offers real, practical help.
What needs to improve to expand adoption of wearable robots?
A demonstration-centered evaluation framework and expanded institutional support are urgently needed. In particular, rather than evaluation focused on short-term performance metrics, we need standards capable of comprehensively assessing long-term wearability and actual improvements in work efficiency.
If an institutional environment is established that recognizes wearable robots as one pillar of safety equipment at industrial and public work sites, market expansion and technological development will accelerate further.
What are your plans going forward?
We are currently working to build out a broader product lineup, including 'StepUp NEO Powered' and upper-body robots.
We also opened a flagship store in Gangnam, Seoul in November 2025 so more people can experience firsthand why exoskeletons matter. In March 2026, we plan to participate in MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, Spain.
We intend to move actively into sales in the Americas to open up global markets. The goal is to drive revenue growth through export expansion and establish product value by concentrating on specialized industry sectors.
To that end, we established a U.S. subsidiary in 2025, laying the groundwork for entry into global markets. We are also proceeding with the relevant steps toward a domestic stock market listing, targeting 2027.
Over the longer term, we aim to leverage our position as a company able to collect and accumulate data from field workers, and to develop humanoid robot AI services equipped with work intelligence.
Anything you'd like to add?
FRT Robotics envisions a world where humans and robots coexist in harmony. We believe robots should not simply replace human labor, but should be tools that expand human capability and improve quality of life.
Looking ahead, we aspire to evolve toward the 'AI exoskeleton.' We plan to develop by accumulating data on body movement and work environments generated while workers wear our products. Building on robot technology that holds this work data, we want to expand step by step into humanoid robot development that genuinely understands the field.
StepUp is not merely a machine — it is a human companion. It lightens the burden of labor, ensures safety, and allows anyone to benefit from technology.
FRT Robotics will progressively adopt eco-friendly materials and energy-efficient technologies to build a sustainable robot ecosystem. We will remain a company that keeps asking what value technology can add to people's work and lives.
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