On Saturday, 8 October 2016 a world premiere happened in the SWISS Arena in Kloten: ETH Zurich organised the very first Cybathlon! Individuals with physical disabilities competed side by side in six demanding disciplines, using the latest assistive technologies.

You could watch the athletes as they tackled flights of stairs in the new wheel chairs and proved their speed and skill using the most up-to-date modern prostheses. The various races tested how the competitors cope with specific challenges and activities from everyday life. There were races for athletes with powered arm and leg prostheses, for those wearing a robotic exoskeleton and for powered wheelchairs. There was also a race for cyclists using electrical muscle stimulation and even a brain-computer interface race.

Cybathlon provides a platform for the development of novel assistive technologies that are useful for daily life. Through the organisation of the Cybathlon we want to remove barriers between people with disabilities, the public and technology developers.