Switzerland will host the world’s first Cybathlon, an Olympic-style competition for parathletes using robotic assistive devices and brain computer interfaces.
It will include six events: a bike race, leg race, wheelchair race, exoskeleton race, arm prosthetic race (including electrical muscle stimulation), and a Brain Computer Interface race for competitors with full paralysis.
Unlike the Olympics, where athletes can use prosthetics to make themselves only as good as able-bodied athletes, Cybathlon competitors are encouraged to use the best technology. Prizes will be awarded both to the athlete and to the company that created the prosthetic, device or software. The assistive devices can include commercially available products provided by companies and prototypes developed by research labs.