Technology meets innovation - for future-proof assistance systems

FAULHABER SUPPORTS INNOVATIVE WORK

Walking up and down stairs, tying shoes, taking the bus to work - for most of us, these are everyday things that we do without even thinking about it. For people with physical disabilities, however, the simplest things can become a challenge. At the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST) in Rapperswil, or more precisely in the MedTech Lab, scientists and engineers are investigating how these challenges and obstacles can be overcome using innovative technology. FAULHABER has been supporting and sponsoring this work for over seven years.

Inclusion through inventiveness

The Enhanced Teams were founded in 2015 - to combine interdisciplinary expertise and developer spirit. Driven by the desire to help people and to develop reliable and robust assistance systems that focus on the user. The scientists, engineers and community service volunteers work on technologies and solutions that enable inclusion. The Enhanced teams will soon be looking back with pride on 10 years of working and tinkering together - and there are plenty of plans for the future. These include, for example, participation in the 3rd Cybathlon in October this year. The competition in which the pilots compete in various disciplines with their high-tech assistance systems.

Silvia Rohner is the team leader of the MedTech Lab and is responsible for project management and safety aspects. She is also driving the vision forward: “For me personally, inclusion is very, very important. I believe that we as a society need to give our people with paralysis the technology they need to participate fully in everyday life. And we support this by simply pushing the boundaries of technology so that components of what we develop actually make a difference, i.e. enable an improvement in the everyday lives of people with limited mobility.”

Bundled innovative strength and many years of collaboration

This is also reflected in the motto of the Enhanced Teams: “We push the boundaries of technology to improve the lives of physically impaired people.” A goal that FAULHABER is happy to support, both financially and with the high-performance drive systems required for the projects. The Enhanced Teams and the company began exchanging ideas at a very early stage - mainly about possible motor designs. “I think it's great that FAULHABER has always supported this idea of inclusion so strongly right from the start. [...] I really appreciate the fact that this has been a long-term collaboration.”

Innovation is the buzzword here, because you can't do without it. Projects are tackled with the knowledge and skills of the team and with the input and experience of those affected. Silvia Rohner explains what the path from idea to prototype looks like: “For us, it's always very much based on a problem and, as we're dealing with assistance systems for people with disabilities, we always start with the people with the disabilities. [...] And only then, when we have found a concept that actually solves a problem and that could actually be used in everyday life, do we start with the technical development.”

The results are impressive: Whether wheelchair or exoskeleton, the assistance systems of the Enhanced Teams are highly developed and up to any challenge. Training for the Cybathlon is already in full swing ...