The first cyborg Olympiad will be held in Switzerland in October

In almost every sport, it is strictly forbidden for athletes to improve their bodies by any means. They prohibit the intake of even the most innocuous drugs such as Meldonium and coffee, not to mention mechanical implants and prostheses. Such is considered a malicious violation and is punishable by disqualification, up to a life sentence.

The organizers of the first ever cyborg Olympics adhere to a strictly opposite principle. All participants of the Olympic Games in Zurich in October 2016 are required to make a hardware upgrade in order to qualify for the competition. The more radical the cyborg body is modified - the higher the chances of winning.

The Cybathlon organizers from Zurich Swiss Higher Technical School (ETH Zurich) do not plan to specifically improve the results of active athletes. On the contrary, the competition is designed for people with disabilities who are forced to use prostheses of various types. These are exoskeletons for increasing strength using an external frame, robotic prosthetic arms and legs, neurocomputer interfaces for controlling computer power of thought, etc.
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For example, people with disabilities with complete damage to the function of the spinal cord will compete in high-speed cycling along the track, pedaling through the interface of functional electrical stimulation, giving impulses to the leg muscles.



People with amputated upper extremities will demonstrate the dexterity of mechanical prostheses by swiping a ring along a difficult route, trying not to touch the wire.



Owners of mechanical legs and exoskeletons will compete in the run with obstacles. Well, completely paralyzed will fight in computer games, wearing helmets with electrodes and controlling virtual objects with the power of thought.



Participation in the Olympic Games has already been confirmed by athletes from 23 countries. Each cyborg is accompanied by a technical support group - engineers with all the necessary equipment for the operation of a robotic body.

The organizers hope that Cybathlon will be successful, so that the next competition will be held in 2020 in Tokyo, in parallel with the usual Olympics.

Scientists from the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich also count on the fact that during the competition more advanced technical solutions will be found that can improve the lives of millions of people with disabilities around the world.