OVERHEARD...

“When science meets the Olympics.”

Scientists, competitors, and spectators gathered in Switzerland this weekend for the Cybathlon 2024 – a once-every-four-year event where people with physical disabilities put high-tech assistive devices to the test, as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life.

Competitors are encouraged to use the most state-of-the-art technology available, with prizes awarded to both the winning athletes (called “pilots”) and the developers of the assistive tools they use.

The 2024 Cybathlon consisted of eight competitions, including:

• A brain-computer interface race, where pilots with quadriplegia guided an animated avatar through a virtual obstacle course using only their thoughts.
• An assistance robot race, in which pilots controlled a robo-assistant from their wheelchairs.
• A functional electrical stimulation bike race, featuring pilots with paraplegia who used an electronic controller to activate their leg muscles and ride a bicycle.
• An exoskeleton race, which requires paraplegic pilots to complete a variety of technically complex tasks – like navigating a crowded room or handling food in a kitchen – with the help of a robotic exoskeleton.

See the full list of winners here.

💥 The impact: Some of the technologies showcased at Cybathlon 2024, such as arm and leg prostheses, are already widely used. But for others, the Cybathlon is a proving ground for new ideas – and has led to the creation of several new commercial products in the past, including a stair-climbing wheelchair from startup Scewo.