Cybathlon

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The Cybathlon is a competition in which people with physical disabilities (“pilots”) compete against each other while completing tasks relevant to everyday life using technical assistance systems. In addition to the competition, the Cybathlon offers a platform to advance research in the field of everyday assistance systems and to promote dialogue with the public.

The first Cybathlon, organized by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ( ETH Zurich ), took place on October 8, 2016 in the Swiss Arena in Kloten north of Zurich in Switzerland and was the first international competition of its kind. 66 pilots from 25 nations competed against each other in front of about 4600 spectators.

The next Cybathlon will take place again on May 2nd and 3rd, 2020 in the SWISS Arena in Kloten - this time as a two-day event. The qualifying races will take place on the first day and the finals on the second day. As at the premiere, there will be a supporting program in which visitors can test the disciplines themselves in a playful way and supported by people with disabilities.

background

Robert Riener, Professor of Robotics at ETH Zurich, initiated the Cybathlon in 2013 as a kind of platform for the development of assistance systems suitable for everyday use.

The Cybathlon came about through the collaboration between ETH Zurich and the Swiss National Science Foundation , whose special program, the Swiss National Center of Competence in Robotics Research, aims to promote bionic technologies. The event under the umbrella of the ETH Zurich is financially and ideally supported by various partners and sponsors.

In contrast to other competition programs such as the Paralympics , whose participants are only allowed to use technical aids without power machines , the participants in the Cybathlon also use devices with integrated energy sources and auxiliary motors.

Teams can compete in six different disciplines. A team always consists of a pilot (person with a disability who meets the inclusion criteria of the respective discipline) and a technology provider (university or company) who work closely together. Around 70% of the teams have a university background, while 30% of the teams come from industry (e.g. manufacturers of commercially available prostheses).

Disciplines

The six disciplines of the Cybathlon 2016 will remain the same for the Cybathlon 2020 - albeit with new challenges. The courses are deliberately designed so that they depict everyday activities. This shows how well the respective technology is suitable for supporting the user when climbing stairs or opening doors, for example. Several pilots compete against each other at the same time in each discipline. The tasks and rules are defined in detail for each of the six disciplines. Correct and safe execution has priority. Time plays a role as a secondary factor.

  • Virtual race with mind control ( brain-computer interface ): The pilots, who are paralyzed from the neck down, use brain-computer interfaces to control avatars in a specially developed computer game. This technology is to be further developed so that people with restricted mobility can use this method to control devices such as computers or wheelchairs. (BCI)
  • Bicycle race with electrical muscle stimulation (functional electrical stimulation): The pilots of this cycle race are paraplegic, which means that their lower extremities and parts of the trunk are paralyzed. With the help of artificial stimulation, a muscle contraction is triggered and the pilots can pedal on a recumbent bike. (FES)
  • Skill course with arm prostheses (Powered Arm Prosthesis Race): This race is open to pilots who use an arm prosthesis on one or both sides. This must include the wrist and can be controlled with any kind of control. (POOR)
  • Obstacle course with leg prostheses (Powered Leg Prosthesis Race): This course allows pilots with a unilateral or bilateral leg prosthesis to take part. The prosthesis must replace the knee joint; it can be an active as well as a passive leg prosthesis. (LEG)
  • Parcours with robotic exoskeletons (Powered Exoskeleton Race): Paraplegics wearing an exoskeleton can take part in this race. These motorized support devices enable the pilots to walk and solve everyday tasks. (EXO)
  • Parcours with motorized wheelchairs (Powered Wheelchair Race): In this race, pilots with severe mobility problems compete against each other in a motorized wheelchair. The wheelchairs are characterized by innovative technologies to overcome obstacles such as stairs or doors. (WHEEL)

Results 2016

Medals were awarded for the best performance of the pilots and the development teams of the technology used.

FES

Other participants: Hanno Voigt, Germany; Kevin Gnehm, USA; Jerome Parent, France; Greg McClure, Australia; Estevão Carvalho Lopes, Brazil; Yoshitsugu Ikai, Japan; Vance Bergeron, France; Tsz Ying Lee, Hong Kong; Wichakorn Weangsong, Thailand

LEG

  • First place: Helgi Sveinsson, Iceland (Rheo Knee)
  • Second place: Billy Costelo, Iceland
  • Third place: David Jonsson, Iceland
Other participants: Dmitry Ignatov, Russia; Stefan Loesler, Germany; Carlos Felipa, Peru; Dmitry Ignatov, India; Prajwal Basavaraja, India; Lukas Kalemba, Iceland; Michel De Groote, Belgium; Maher Lateri, Belgium; Yuki Mano, Japan

WHEEL

  • First place: Florian Hauser, CH (HSR Enhanced; Institute for Lab Automation and Mechatronics, University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil )
  • Second place: Cho Yu Ng, Hong Kong
  • Third place: Robi Bojanec, Slovenia
Other participants: Tomoya Ito, Japan; Tit Hung Tsang, Hong Kong; Yuri Larin, Russia; Rory A. Cooper, USA; Paul Moore, Great Britain; Jongbae Kim, South Korea; Kalliopi Loufaki, Greece; Silvashankar Sivakanthan, Great Britain; Josep Ballester, Switzerland

EXO

  • First place: Andre Von Rüschen, Germany ( ReWalk Robotics)
  • Second place: Mark Clayton Daniel, USA (Institute for Human & Machine Cognition IHMC Florida)
  • Third place: Byeongwook Kim, South Korea (SG Mechatronics)
Other finalists: Silke Pan , Switzerland; Philipp Wipfli, Switzerland; Jesus Aviña Solorio, Mexico

POOR

  • First place: Robert Radocy, Netherlands (DIPO Power; Biomechanical Engineering Department, Delft University of Technology )
  • Second place: Patrick Mayrhofer, Germany (Team Michelangelo)
  • Third place: Magnus Niska, Sweden (Osseointegrated Prostheses for the Rehabilitation of Amputees OPRA)
Other participants: Claudia Breidbach, Germany; Clinton Olson, Italy; Bert Pot, Netherlands; Kevin Andrew Evison, Great Britain; Kazuya Maeda, Japan; Wade Daniel Letain, Canada; Konstantin Deblikov, Russia

BCI

Other participants: Eric Anselmo, Switzerland; Evgenii Krasnoperov, Russia; Owen Collumb, Great Britain; Sebastian Reul, Germany; Hong Gi Kim, South Korea; Supawat Samur Park, Thailand; Gabor Janicsák, Hungary; Gerhard Andreas Kleinhofer, Austria

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Switzerland to host the first Cybathlon, an Olympics for bionic athletes. In: The Verge . March 26, 2014
  2. ^ Bionic Olympics to be hosted in 2016. In: BBC News . March 27, 2014
  3. ↑ What technology can do. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung . October 9, 2016
  4. ↑ Get ready for CYBATHLON 2020. Accessed July 29, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Races and Disciplines. Retrieved July 29, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Results Cybathlon Zurich 2016 ( Memento from October 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ^ Center for Advanced Platform Technology at the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University
  8. ↑ Team HSR
  9. ↑ IHMC Robotics to Compete in Cybathlon 2016.
  10. ↑ The internationally successful German hand bike athlete Silke Pan started at the Cybathlon 2016 in Zurich for the EPFL Lausanne team
  11. ↑ DIPO Power website ( Memento of October 9, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Brain Tweakers at Cybathlon. In: École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne