'Bionic Olympics' Bring Cyborg Technology To Competition

Not many athletes compete in mind-controlled computer games. Next month, however, more than fifty teams from around the world will meet near Zurich, Switzerland, to demonstrate their skills in manipulating computer characters, going up and down stairs in powered wheelchairs, and racing to pick up objects with their bionic hands. The events, which start on October 8, are part of the world's first-ever Cybathlon, and will bring together the world's best scientists and disabled prosthetic users. But while the Paralympics focuses on outstanding athleticism, the Cybathlon will highlight novel robotic assistive devices that can help people with physical disabilities cope with everyday life. "We are not so much a sports event, and the philosophy is different," Robert Riener, a professor at ETH Zurich University who helped organize the Cybathlon told GeekWire.