The international competition took place in Zurich on October 8th, 2016 and featured people with disabilities using cutting-edge tools and prosthetics to participate in events that included an exoskeleton race and a brain-controlled computer game. The team from Delft included students Monica Moreo, Krysten Oates and Fabrizio Verga from the Faculty of Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering (3mE) department of Biomedical Engineering. They were coached by Dr. Dick H. Plettenburg, a lecturer in the department who served as their adviser.
The team was eager to prove that conventional and commercially available prosthetics are often more reliable and generally work better than ‘bionic’ versions powered by electronics. They managed to achieve this goal in Zurich, hands down. They faced three teams from Germany, Sweden and Scotland in the race’s final event and managed to come out on top. During the competition, their human-powered prosthesis helped Radocy quickly accomplish everyday tasks like loosening bottle caps and using clothespins to hang laundry.
“We are very proud of our victory!” Oates said in a 3mE press release. “We knew nothing about our opponents. Our focus was mainly on Bob’s training. He trained very hard. We definitely plan to participate again next year.”
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