Players completed the six tasks such as standing up after sitting, avoiding obstacles during walking, and walking up and down stairs. (image: KAIST)
DAEJEON, Nov. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A wearable robot technology developed by South Korean research teams to help people with disabilities walk again topped the standings at Cybathlon 2020 held on Friday at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon.
The Cybathlon is a competition for people with disabilities using state-of-the-art wearable robot technologies.
Twelve people with disabilities from eight countries participated in the powered leg prosthesis race at Cybathlon 2020, including Kim Byung-wook (47) and Lee Joo-hyun (20), who are paralyzed from the waist down.
Kim ranked first, while Lee was third.
They used the wearable robot ‘Walk on Suit 4’ developed by researchers at KAIST and Severance Hospital.
In the competition, they completed the six tasks such as standing up after sitting, avoiding obstacles during walking, and walking up and down stairs.
This year marked the 2nd anniversary since the first competition was held in Switzerland in 2016.
A total of 53 teams from 20 countries took part in Cybathlon 2020.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the teams competed in different time zones and locations. They participated in the competition in a specially designed ‘lockdown mode’ in their respective home countries.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
