Kevin Piette, 36 years old, smiles and waves as he walks down the street between two wings of people. His left hand holds the Olympic flame of the Paris 2024 Games. The athlete is a special torchbearer, a ‘cyber torchbearer’ they called him. Because he, a tennis player who became paraplegic following a car accident 11 years ago, wears a cutting-edge exoskeleton, a first in the history of torchbearers. The video of his passage in Poissy moved and exalted the web and social media. “I will never forget this day”, commented Piette himself on Instagram. “It is with pride and honor that I was able to carry this flame that represents so many beautiful things: commitment, sport, innovation, inclusion, hope, future”, he lists in his post, thanking for the “incredible and emotional day” experienced.
Piets after the accident “he did not throw in the towel”, we read on the official website of the Paris Olympics. He returned to sport “as a para-athlete” and has become “an exoskeleton ‘pilot’ for a French company that develops a robotic walking device,” Wandercraft, founded in 2012 by three engineers. The device they are working on is equipped with sensors and motors positioned at the hips, knees and ankles, and allows people in wheelchairs to stand up and walk and undergo intensive and personalized rehabilitation to maximize their chances of recovery from serious injuries, and prevent the onset of complications from loss of mobility. A remote control allows you to control the movements of the exoskeleton. Piette was one of the first testers of this company and contributed to the improvement of the robotic device, also taking part in “cybathlons,” it says, that is, competitions in which people with disabilities use assistive technologies.
“Currently used in rehabilitation, a personal version of the exoskeleton is being developed to allow for greater independence at home.. By carrying the Olympic torch – conclude the organizers of the Games – Kevin inspires people to engage in sport and to promote innovation for those living with disabilities”.
There are several companies and centers – also in Italy – that are working on similar devices, wearable robots. Each of these has its own super pilots. Pilots such as Alex, 49 years old from Bologna, and Davide, 47 years old from Maranello, who were among the first patients with spinal cord injury to have experimented with the wearable robot by Inail and the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), called Twin (presented in Milan in February of this year).
Piette yesterday showed the world the potential that a cutting-edge exoskeleton can have, turning the spotlight of Paris 2024 on what can be achieved when “sporting commitment, the desire for a more inclusive society and an entrepreneurial and innovative spirit” merge.
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