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WE HAVE THE summer Olympics and the Euros to look forward to in 2016, but there’s another event happening that year that could be just as big.
The Cybathlon is the first ever international competition for athletes who use prosthetic and other aids.
Competitors will compete using assistive devices like wearable arm prostheses, powered exoskeletons, powered wheelchairs and electrically stimulated muscles among others.
Sponsored by the Swiss National Competence Center of Research in Robotics (NCCR Robotics), the idea is to promote the development of new medical devices and research.
The events in the Cybathlon will include a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) race for those who are fully paralysed, a Functional Electric Simulation Bike race, a leg prosthetics race, powered exoskeleton race, powered wheelchair race and arm prosthetics.
Unlike the Olympics, which requires everyone to be on a level playing field, Cybathlon competitors are encouraged to use the best technology they can get their hands on. According to the competition’s website:
The rules of the competition are made in such way that the novel technology will give the pilot an advantage over a pilot that would use a comparable but less advanced or conventional assistive technology.
It also assures that it will be difficult or impossible for the competing pilots to “game” the competition and get an unfair advantage. Some of the races will require participants to complete tasks or navigate obstacles such as ramps, pillars, or carry weights over a certain distance.
There will be two medals for each competition: one for the pilot and one for the organisation or company that provided the device, software or prosthetic used.
The event will take place in Zurich on 8th October, 2016.
(Video: rienerr/YouTube)
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Pointless waste of money
@Kev OSullivan: blood boiling
Why not just buy the pouches themselves ?
@Nigel Hayden: Because there are laws around procurement that require these things to go to tender and companies to bid to secure the contract. If they bought them themselves, people would be complaining that they’re giving money to someone who owns a company, who once was flatmate of a brother of some random TD or something.
@Ciaran L: Cant win with us lot really.
@Ciaran L: I think Nigel meant those who use them, rather than the department itself.
@Nigel Hayden: Let’s see who gets the contract. My guess is that it is already decided. There is no need for these pouches. Children can have more than one phone. Teachers say there is no need for them. So why is there such a rush to get them?
@Ciaran L: Isn’t that exactly what is going to happen.
@Nigel Hayden: parental responsibility, parents fined if their kids bring phones to school, simple.
As a parent it is my job to monitor my child’s usage of their mobile, if it is not allowed in school it or my job to ensure my child does not. The government may have to do this as so many parents now do not want to parent, ie be the bad guy. As a parent I see so many of my kids classmates parents wanting to be their teenagers “friend” not their parent.
@Patrick MC Dermott: Exactly & knowing teenagers, they will find a way!
A signal jammer in each hallway would be a lot more effective.
@Luke Littler: Teachers use phones for work purposes. Emails, Attendance etc
@Luke Littler: bit like all these masts all around us though no that don’t affect us!!
@Alexa Reborn: kids just leave the premises
Hand in an old, unused phone and carry on as normal. Or say you left your phone at home. This easily circumvents your ridiculous little, €9,000,000 pouches. Another brain dead idea. 9 million quid!
@Chop Chop: stop it now you’re making you’re much sense
This is not a “waste of money”, this is the government blatantly laughing in our faces. Spending 9 million of our tax payer money unnecessarily is the height of contempt for the general public.
Me and my two siblings went to one of the roughest, crappiest schools in south Dublin for 6 years. My youngest brother still attends this school and mobile phone use has never, is still not, and won’t ever be a tangible problem that is worth 9 million. My school used to confiscate phones for a week if you were caught on it during class, refusal to give your phone up would result in an immediate one day suspension from school. As such, phone use has never been a problem, it is the same in many many schools across the country.
9 million euros. Sadistic.
I’ll supply them for 20million, in keeping with government policy of paying well in excess of the tender prices
@P. V. Aglue: well said
What a waste. Seeing as most students also have and use tablets at school ( linked/synced to their phones ) it seems a pointless and expensive exercise.
IF it’s anything like the Children’s Hospital then we are screwed again!
@Mick Hanna: can’t go too far wrong with a 9million budget, absolute chicken feed despite the overreaction of the usual moaners.
@Mick Hanna: The politicised serial objectors are the villains with the hospital not being built at the original tender price. Probably the same people now trying to blame “de guvernment”.
@thomas molloy: Experts said not to build the hospital there, the government ignpred them.
Here we go again.
What a waste of tax payers money .
These politicians have not changed one iota.
Screw the tax payer.
More carbon tax to pay for them.
Sure it will all be forgotten about in a month or so.
they could build 9 astro pitches across the country for that
@Desmond Wisley: or 30 bike sheds.
Did someone say ‘ phone contract ‘ ? Someone give Lowry a bell there sure…
@Brian: Boom Boom!!! ; – )
All TD’S busy ringing their buddies this morning
Someone asked a simplistic and relevant question! Why don’t the children who want to bring their phones to school with them, buy the pouches themselves? If they don’t want to buy a pouch, they can’t bring their phones to school. Mobile phones shouldn’t be allowed in schools regardless, our children go to school to learn, not to video, not to talk to their mates, certainly not to distract other children who don’t or who don’t bring with them to their schools…… to learn! Enough of this fannying about, the government are wrong to spend taxpayer’s money on this when it could be/should be spent elsewhere! It’s not rocket science folks (God forbid).
Some cronies badly need this easy money for their new yacht.
So the wasting of tax payers money is set to continue under this crowd of wasters,it will go to a company that’s friends with the government
0 mental health investment, 0 new bed in hospitals investment, 0 children’s care investment absolutely nothing is being done to make peoples lifes easier, but they are wasting 9 million for a mobile phone pouches? And filler regulations?? I do not understand how people keep eating it year after year after year
Aren’t some just gonna put an old phone into these pouches instead of their actual phone ?
This spending on waste needs to stop
And why not order 20 more bike sheds for this small fortune?
Wonder who will FFG give it to let me guess
@Kevin O Brien: ill tell you how this government is working with the tenders. Whoever offers less , that offer goes to their buddies and pals so that they would offer 1 euro less and win the tender.
The spectre of the e-voting machines rises up again
How about parental responsibility, parents do not let their children bring phones to school. Save 9 million to put back in to education?
And we keep voting the same in every election… what an absolute sham of a mockery of sham
It would be cheaper to get teachers to actually do their jobs and stop students brining in their phones to class, or at the very least get students to stop taking them out in class. I got detention once for thaking out a game boy in class. Teachers and parents need to teach and take responsibility for the actions of students. Primarily students parents. In certain areas of my workplace, mobile phones arenot permitted, and not one employee makes an issue of it. Their left in lockers; no pouches required. The real problem is this new breed of intitled brats and their perpetually offended parents.
I’m sure Sinn Feins Conor Murphy, Northern Irelands Minster for Spending will put us on to a man that will give us a good price to supply the pouches
@H Woo: Maybe if it eas an all island project. But you go ahead and move the furniture in your head to make space for the party who live there rent free :-[
Scandalous
Crazy. What a waste of money
@Martin McDonnell: our money by the way that is being deducted off of your wages every time.
Under 16s should not have access to smart devices for unsupervised personal use.
Waste of tax payers money beep sake
A lot of money but it will be well-spent. Plenty of time to learn how we abhorred the Murdochs but replaced them with Musk, Zuckerberg and the rest of the billionaire Tech Bros., while their attention spans, critical-thinking skills and world-views are melted into sewer-juice.
Good. Excellent idea works really well in our kids school.
@Hotirish: nice try Simon
Aul Brennie will be only commenting after 4pm.
9m so probably looking at 50 million so
@martin finnegan: if they give it to bam it will be 3 billion by the time they’re done in 2047
Get over yourselves and ironically Mary who complains boo hoo as always full of negativity the electorate rejected you twice.
@Tim Brennan: Who? If you’re talking sbput the person that I thinl you’te talking aboit, she was elected, agaim, topping the poll.
@Brian D’Arcy:
3rd count
Norma Foley , bag shopping
Probably give it to bam and it will cost us 3 billion by the time they’re done
have your say