CYBATHLON

Featured Team: Sight Guide

Team Sight Guide started with Professor Alireza Darvishy (ZHAW), himself affected by vision loss, and his ambitious plan to form a team for the CYBATHLON 2024 Vision Assistance Race. The team was born, an alliance of three leading research institutions in the canton of Zurich, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich.

Their vision is to make a valuable impact on new technologies for assistance systems with innovative solutions, always in direct collaboration with blind or visually impaired people during development.

Featured Discipline: Vision Assistance Race

People with severe vision impairments face challenges in daily life, affecting their independence and well-being. Vision problems not only reduce the quality of life but also limit job opportunities and increase the risk of accidents. Tasks like choosing matching clothes or finding items in a store become difficult, and unexpected obstacles on daily commutes can be dangerous. Unfamiliar or dynamic environments are particularly challenging.

Latest News: Visual Impairment, Assistance Technologies and CYBATHLON Vision Assistance Race

With our new discipline – Vision Assistance Race, CYBATHLON aims to push research in the field of visual aid because the technologies involved have the potential to improve the quality of life and autonomy of people with vision impairment.

Latest News: Where are we with brain-computer interfaces?

Your brain is crackling with the activity generated by roughly 100 billion neurons and their connections. Scientists are harnessing that power, building brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that act as a bridge between the brain and assistive devices. As the technology for brain-computer interfaces between people and assistive devices continue to advance, we talked to two BCI experts from Technische Universität Graz and the University of Vienna to understand what the current challenges and exciting new developments are in this field.

New Video: How and Why to Succeed at CYBATHLON 

Winning a CYBATHLON competition means several things: Your technology is great, your pilot is awesome, the team’s huge effort paid off, a lot of fun, shared emotions, and a next step towards a world without barriers. In this CYBATHLON lecture, Prof. Bermes provides insights into how their university and their team approached the CYBATHLON competition.