Cybaslon competition where the handicapped and the robot meet … Success of the gold medal of the KAIST team

Kim Byeong-wook (47), a paraplegic disabled player, participates in the ‘International Cybaslon Competition 2020’ held at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in Daejeon on the 13th and carries a portable robot. Kim won the gold medal in this event. [연합뉴스]

Korea’s KAIST team, which participated in the international sports competition ‘Cybaslon 2020’, where the disabled and robotic technology met, won the gold and bronze medals. The Chung-Ang University team ranked fifth.
Cybaslon is a compound word for cyborg, which means human, and athlon, Latin, which means game. The Cybaslon competition is held every four years as a sports competition in which people with disabilities use bionic assistive devices, such as robots, and compete for records. The first tournament was held in 2016.

The KAIST team participated in the ‘Wearable Exoskeleton Robot’ event. Kim Byeong-wook (47), who participated in the last tournament and won the bronze medal, won the gold medal, and Lee Ju-hyun (20), who played for the first time this year, won the bronze medal. Both athletes were paralyzed and wearing a suit 4 developed by Professor Gong Kyung-cheol’s research team from the KAIST Department of Mechanical Engineering.

‘Tour suit 4’ worn by the players of the KAIST team in the ‘Cybaslon International Competition 2020’. [KAIST 제공]

The athletes wore overalls 4 ▶ Waking up from the couch and stacking cups ▶ Traverse obstacles, switchbacks, walk over rough terrain, go up and down stairs, up and down stairs, traverse slopes, and traverse slopes and gates.

Professor Gyeong-cheol Gong said: “The achievement of the gold and bronze medals at the same time demonstrated the excellence of the robotic technology applied to the Walk-on Suit 4 together with the efforts of the athletes.” I was sure.

The JoongAng University team participated in the ‘Electric Stimulation Bike’ event. This event is a record game in which a disabled person who cannot move his lower body at all completes the 1200m track by stepping on the pedal of a bicycle by himself. Kim Young-hoon (27) was the first Korean team to appear and came fifth.

The electric stimulation bike that Kim was on was developed by the research team of Professor Shin Dong-jun from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Chung-Ang University. The artificial intelligence algorithm determines the muscular condition of the disabled and generates an optimal muscle contraction signal on behalf of the damaged motor nerve. This allows the disabled to use their muscles to drive without external electrical assistance, such as a motor.

JoongAng University Kim Young-hoon team training in Cybaslon competition. Kim finished fifth in this competition. [중앙대 제공]

Professor Shin Dong-joon said, “The preparation period was only 2 years and 6 months, but we got significant results, such as having a match with the medal-winning team from advanced countries.” “We will expand our research with mobility.”
Reporter Park Hyung-soo [email protected]