If You Like the Olympics, You Will REALLY Like This
We just got really excited about the next Olympics. Not the summer session in Rio 2016, but the one right after that. We’re talking about the world’s very first Cybathlon, a bionic competition that will spotlight robot-assisted parathletes using technologies that make life better for people with disabilities. With so many advancements in this world, the Swiss National Competence Center of Research and ETH Zurich decided to host their own Olympics to show the once-impossible in a very real athletic arena. Check out the photos below to see “wearables” like we’ve never imagined them before.
This concept image shows an athlete in a powered exoskeleton race. The course will include pillars of different heights and weights that must be picked up and carried.
Athletes with powered arm prosthetics (hmm, maybe some 3D printed?) will race to finish two different hand-arm task courses.
Those paralyzed from the neck down can participate using a brain-computer interface that lets them race avatars in a simulation projected in front of the audience.
Prosthetic legs will power runners’ races on courses that include slopes, stairs, narrow beams, gravel and cobblestone.
Powered wheelchairs that look ready to go off-roading will race on a course with ramps, sand and a gravel pit.
Competitors who have spinal cord injuries can compete in races with electrical stimulation bikes.
Even in animated form, it’s exciting to see what’s possible with the development and intersection of traditional prosthetics and robotics technology. The “wearables” featured will truly share the spotlight on this international sports stage alongside the athletes — in each event, medals will be given to the parathletes and the team or scientist who created their device.
Have wearables or prosthetics helped you achieve something you couldn’t before? We want to hear from you! Below!
