JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 46

SOLUTlONS medical

Development of a lightweight
composite exoskeleton
Composite materials offer assistive technologies for paraplegics with a lighter,
more practical exoskeleton.

Focus

T

hese last few years, medical exoskeletons have
gone from being mere
possibilities to actual solutions
for people who have experienced motor injuries and can
no longer stand or walk. Ecole
Polytechnique Federale de
Lausanne (EPFL)'s Robotic
Systems Laboratory (LSRO) is
working on an exoskeleton prototype for paraplegics, enabling
them not only to walk but also
to take part in competitions.
Composites:
a necessity to save weight
The Robotic Systems Laboratory's goal is to make the vertical
world accessible to handicapped
people according to its project
supervisor, Mohamed Bouri. In
several years, it will undoubtedly
be common to see people in
exoskeletons standing up and
walking around outside or in
stores.
The two major issues encountered by these devices in their
quest to gain traction and become
more widespread are their understandably elevated cost and their

46

weight. Indeed, the technologies
used to make these exoskeletons
as tailor-made for patients as possible imply several electric motors as well as the possibility of
controlling each step manually,
depending on the type of injury.
The other major challenge is to
reduce the weight of the devices
so that the users can wear them
more easily and not be impeded
by additional weight. Composite
materials - due to their strength
and low weight - are the solution
used by EPFL to address these issues. At only 14 kilogrammes, it
is one of the lightest exoskeletons
available, even though it is still at
the prototype stage for now.

a goal, they also want to enable them to take part in competitions such as Cybathlon.
Cybathlon is an event combining competitive racing for disabled athletes and an exhibition
with the latest innovations and
products in assistive devices.
The team asked Silke Pan - a
former acrobat - to pilot the
prototype during the event. Left
paraplegic after a trapeze accident, she has become a handcycle athlete who trained with the
device and worked to get more
adept at piloting it.
More information:
http://twiice.ch/

About EPFL

EPFL is Europe's most cosmopolitan technical university
with students, professors and
staff from over 120 nations. A
dynamic environment, open to
Switzerland and the world, EPFL
is centered on its three missions:
teaching, research and technology transfer. It works together
with an extensive network of
partners including other universities and institutes of technology, developing and emerging
countries, secondary schools
and colleges, industry and economy, political circles and the general public, to bring about real
impact for society.

From exoskeleton
prototype to racing
Thanks to a very flexible production method, it makes it
easy to produce exoskeletons
that can fit different body types
confirms Tristan Vouga, a PhD
student in microengineering
and the person behind the
project. This approach allows
TWIICE to work with different
handicaps.
Not only does the EPFL team
have helping paraplegics as

The TWIICE exoskeleton, making climbing stairs possible again for paraplegics

jec composites magazine / N 110 January-February 2017


http://www.twiice.ch/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017

Cover
Edito
Opinion: Mobility
Contents
NEWS
In brief
Startup competition
Construction & public transport
Investment
Agenda
BUSINESS
Trend
Startup booster
China
MANUFACTURING
RTM
WPC
Sandwich
Feature Automotive - El dorado, or a lure
3D printing
Cycle time
Raw materials
Reinforcements
Compression moulding
Compression moulding
Lightweighting
Interior part
SOLUTIONS
Marine
Motorcycle
Medical
In the world
TECHNOLOGY
OPLC
Draping
Damping
Index
Advertisers
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 60
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Cover
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 2
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Edito
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Opinion: Mobility
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 5
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Contents
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 7
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - In brief
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 9
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Startup competition
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 11
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Construction & public transport
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 13
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Investment
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 15
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Agenda
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 17
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Trend
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 19
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Startup booster
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - China
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 22
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - RTM
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 24
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - WPC
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Sandwich
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 27
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 3D printing
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 29
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Cycle time
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 31
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Raw materials
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 33
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 34
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 35
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Reinforcements
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 37
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Compression moulding
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Compression moulding
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Lightweighting
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 41
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Interior part
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Marine
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 44
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Motorcycle
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Medical
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - In the world
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - OPLC
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 49
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 50
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 51
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 52
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 53
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Draping
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 55
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Damping
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 57
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - Advertisers
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #110 - January/February 2017 - 59
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