Cybathlon: The first international competition for disabled athletes with robotic assistive technology
Orange County, CA - October 10th 2016 - Through the collaboration of ETH Zurich and NCCR Robotics professor Robert Riener, the first games for athletes with robotic technological aid took place over the weekend. The Cybathlon had 74 athletes from 25 countries participating while an amazing 4600 spectators cheered from the stands of the SWISS Arena Kloten.
The objective of the games were to advocate 3 principles; to advance conversation between academia and industry, to further discussion between technology developers and those with disabilities, and to advocate the use of robotic assistive aids to the general public. The Cybathlon aims, “for people to come away from the day having learned something about the daily issues that those with disabilities face and how technology can be a positive step towards overcoming those situations.”
The events were separated by the type of disability, and based on overcoming day-to-day practical challenges with obstacles like traveling multi-terrain surfaces and stairs and household tasks such as slicing bread, hanging clothes, and changing lightbulbs. Two events were even created for those with paralysis. Those with complete or severe loss of motor function could compete in a brain-computer interface race that uses either electroencephalography or near infrared spectroscopy to control avatars in a computer game developed for the Cybathlon. Those with paraplegia raced in an exoskeleton to complete everyday tasks like climbing stairs and sitting down.
The games themselves aren’t so much about winning or athletic performance, but rather what the advancement of these technologies could mean for those worldwide living with varying disabilities. Some of the technologies used by athletes are already on the market while some were debuted at the event. A few of the teams weren’t able to be scored due to competition regulations, but continued to participate to test their technologies potential to help people worldwide.
The event grabbed international attention as some 150 international media representatives attended.The visitors in attendance were also able to do more than watch as several PluSport exhibitions were taking place inside the arena. Some allowed visitors to undertake the same challenges as competitors like traveling across irregular terrain and one even showed the history of assistive technical appliances.
The event was a huge success and ETH President Lino Guzzella said, “Today, the Cybathlon thrilled spectators from all over the world and demonstrated most impressively just what technology has to offer in assisting humans”. The second Cybathlon is already planned to take place in 2020.
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Cybathlon: The first international competition for disabled athletes with robotic assistive technology Orange County, CA – October 10th 2016 – Through the collaboration of ETH Zurich and NCCR Robotics professor Robert Riener, the first games for athletes with robotic technological aid took place over the weekend. The Cybathlon had 74 athletes from 25 countries participating while an […]