In recent years, research into bipedal robots and exoskeletons has been an exciting and rapidly growing field. Human augmentation, through the building of exoskeletons, is dependent on a deep understanding of how a human body operates on its own. The human body is very efficient at compensating for the various surface conditions it encounters when moving throughout the environment. Learning about the kinematics of bipedal motion is critical to future endeavors and projects focusing on exoskeletons. The problem is that most modern lab environments are lacking a method to simulate a range of ground stiffness conditions. The purpose of this project is to produce a Variable Surface Stiffness Treadmill (VSST) which will allow researchers to learn and observe how bipedal locomotion is affected by ground surface stiffness in a laboratory environment. The VSST will be used as a research tool in the Advanced Robotics Manipulator (ARM) Lab. The VSST will be a critical tool in the HEXAS Lower Extremity Exoskeleton Project. This report describes the preliminary concept development of the VSST research tool which will be further developed in the coming year.