If Kevin Piette ever had dreams of competing in the Olympics, they likely ended when the young tennis player was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident more than a decade ago.
Yet this week, Piet carried the Olympic flame through the streets of Paris — thanks to a genuine man. Astonishing Robot exoskeleton.
The video pretty much tells the entire story, so enjoy:
Kevin Piette, who was paraplegic due to an accident, used an exoskeleton to carry the Olympic flame today and made history! ????
— Kevin W. (@Brink_Thinker) July 23, 2024
Pieter, 36, is one of the first test “pilots” of these exoskeleton suits, which are currently used for rehabilitation but may soon be available for personal use, according to the official Olympic website. Piette participated in “cybathlons” – competitions in which “disabled people use assistive technology to carry out daily activities.”
Wandercraft, the French company that developed the “Atalante People free their hands and walk in the “community” in their own way. Wandercraft said its device has helped more than 650 patients in more than 5,000 treatments since it was approved by EU health regulators in 2019.
The company received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022 to use the exoskeleton suit for stroke rehabilitation in the U.S. and opened a new headquarters in New York City.
The company was co-founded by Jean-Louis Constanza, whose son suffered from neurological disease and slowly lost the ability to walk.
“When he was five years old, I gave him his first wheelchair and told him I was a robotics engineer and he said I should build a robot that would allow him to walk,” Constanza told e-magazinecovering healthcare innovation, 2022.
If that doesn’t resonate with you yet, here’s how Constanza describes users’ reactions when they first wear his device: “It’s that moment when they stand up without anything to stop them from falling, that they laugh or Crying – The act of walking is always exciting, standing in our exoskeleton isn’t like standing vertically in a frame or standing on crutches, it’s like being yourself again.
The purpose of the Olympic Games is to celebrate outstanding achievements in sports competitions. Piette certainly qualifies for the torch relay. But let’s applaud the incredible human ingenuity behind the Wandercraft robot suit, including Constanza and his team of engineers, for turning what seemed like science fiction into a reality. I can’t wait to see people using these exoskeletons to navigate American cities. FDA, don’t screw this up!
