Posted to News on 24th Oct 2016, 00:00
Swiss motors drive exoskeletons
At the first Cybathlon in Zürich, researchers presented the world's best exoskeletons – devices that enable paraplegics to walk again. Motors from Maxon play a central part in this development.
Robotic suits have to be powerful and lightweight at the same time. Too much weight would drain the battery in no time. This presents a big challenge to developers. Most of the motors that are strong enough to power an exoskeleton are large and heavy. This is why engineers are turning to Maxon Motor. Drives from Maxon are powerful, lightweight, and energy-efficient, which means that they conserve battery power. They are also very durable.
In the field of exoskeletons, Maxon has a clear idea about what’s important besides choosing the right motor. As a result, quite a few of the participating teams were using products from Switzerland. The same is true for other disciplines, such as prosthetic arms.
The Cybathlon games were organised by ETH Zürich. Around 80 teams from all over the world participated. The machine-assisted competitors will compete against one another in six disciplines: prosthetic legs, prosthetic arms, exoskeletons, motorized wheelchairs, bicycles with muscle stimulation, and virtual racing using thought control.
