The first concept of such a device that enhanced or assisted the physical capacity of humans originated long before the war started. The earliest ancestor or thing that is even remotely similar to the suit was a consumer device that helped the paraplegic and people with disabilities that affected their mobility, to move, the Max fiber. It was a really small simple string like assortment of carbon nanotubes and circuitry that were the smaller than a human hair and replicated the function of nerves
It was quite successful and got an overwhelmingly positive response worldwide during the time it was commercially released.
Even though it was regarded as the ancestor and foundation of all cybernetic technology, it went down in history as one of the worst.
Due to the product becoming really successful, there was a really high demand for it, the company that developed it, MaxMax limited, did not have the facilities to fully meet the high demands. But they were so greedy that, instead of setting a cap on the number of orders, they didn't.
But they were able to deliver all of them and everything went smooth. That is for a few months.
The first victim of the "Maxicides" (A death caused by the faulty Max fiber) was a 34 year old man. He was paralyzed from the waist down from an accident 5 years ago. The Max fiber helped him to walk again. The implant he received was the standard Max fiber costing nearly $40k for 2.5 inches.
Everything was good and he started going for physiotherapy soon after he regained his ability to walk. But one morning, when he went for a jog, he suddenly collapsed and died. An autopsy revealed that the Max fiber had shorted and lead to a discharge that caused heart failure.
His family filed a lawsuit and MaxMax settled it with an undisclosed amount. The company stated on social media that this was an isolated incident and the rest of the fibers are completely safe and complies with European standards.
This was just the beginning.
The number of faults reported with the Max fibers ranged from paralysis, blood poisoning to brain death, heart failure and so on.
After the number crossed 500, an investigation was launched and the truth was revealed behind the malfunctioning fibers. The company used cheaper materials and rushed the manufacturing process to meet the demand. This combined with the fact that they mistakenly mixed up the specifications of a lot of orders lead to a big problem.
The multi billion dollar company eventually went bankrupt and a lot of the victims didn't receive compensation.
The Max fiber was a commercial failure, but it laid the foundation for the next great milestone in cybernetic technology, Exo. The first cybernetic technology that directly interacted with the brain, leading to the development of hyper realistic online virtual worlds and much more.