Switzerland: First Cyborg Olympics Happening in October
For the first time in history, a cyborg Olympics is set to take place in Switzerland as part of the study that will determine if humans whose movements have been enhanced through electronics are capable of what people without them can accomplish.
According to The Next Web, the cyborg Olympics is aimed at measuring the performance of technological developments in terms of assisting people with disabilities as they go through daily activities.
Called the Cybathlon, the sports fest is seen to encourage the eradication of the belief that athletes with technological enhancements have an unfair advantage to those who don't need any help from technology to perform daily tasks.
Late last year, the Cybathlon's organizer Robert Riener explained the difference between the Paralympics and the upcoming event. "It's less about force and speed, and more about control of the body and the device," Riener told IEEE Spectrum.
Instead of the term "athletes," the competitors will be called "pilots," to further establish the event's celebration of the human body's strength through the help of technology.
The Paralympics does not encourage the use of motor equipments and athletes are not allowed to make use of motorized tools when joining the competitions. The Cybathlon, on the other hand, promotes human-machine collaborations.
Riener is hoping that the festivities will help his cause for the development of technological tools for disabled athletes. Engineers from various entities are expected to grace the sports festival and 80 teams from across the globe are said to arrive in Zurich.
The competition categories include racing in stairs and stepping stones for those with powered leg prosthetics and slicing loaves of bread for amputees who are powered with arm prosthetics.
To make the event available for watching in some areas around the world, major networks including BBC and Japan's NHK will be covering the event. It is expected that if the games become a hit among viewers and audiences who will watch the competitions live, the next Cybathlon will be held in Tokyo, Japan.
