Mark Muhn of Team Cleveland on his way to winning the Functional Electrical Stimulation bike race in the inaugural Cybathlon in 2016. Muhn’s legs a

The Cybathlon: Bionic athletes compete for the gold — and push assistive technologies forward

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2024-10-21 02:00:05

Mark Muhn of Team Cleveland on his way to winning the Functional Electrical Stimulation bike race in the inaugural Cybathlon in 2016. Muhn’s legs are paralyzed; the muscles in them are activated by electric signals from a controller outside of his body.

In the international competition, people with physical disabilities put state-of-the-art devices to the test as they race to complete the tasks of everyday life

Next week, several intrepid cyber-athletes will race to carry out routine household tasks via a computer avatar: They’ll have to open a locked door, for example, and hold a cup under an ice dispenser to collect a precise number of cubes. Those tasks may sound easy, but there’s a catch: The athletes, who are all paralyzed from the neck down, will attempt to complete them using only the power of their thoughts.

This is the brain-computer interface race, one of several challenges in the upcoming 2024 Cybathlon taking place in Switzerland (and remotely) October 25 to 27. The competition, held every four years, pushes the limits of what human bodies and machines can do together, showcasing proficiency at the basic tasks of daily life.