NWU Eagles: The Road to CYBATHLON 2024

The NWU Eagles, a team from North-West University, is on a mission to change lives in Africa with cutting-edge prosthetic and rehabilitation technologies. At CYBATHLON 2024, they will be competing in the Leg Prosthesis Race for the first time. 

Led by experts from various departments in the university, including Prof. André Grobler and Dr Jan-Hendrik Kruger, the South African team is driven by a passion for social impact and innovation. Their pilot, Ian Thomson, lectures in Engineering, and is both a source of inspiration and technical expertise, emphasising user-centred design in prosthetic development. 

Their debut project, Talon, is an affordable and durable prosthetic leg designed for the specific needs of the African continent, balancing quality with cost-effectiveness. Its maintenance-friendly design makes it suitable for settings where resources are limited. 

We spoke to the team ahead of their participation in CYBATHLON 2024.

Can you tell us about your background and your areas of research? 

 All the members of the team come from diverse backgrounds, from different walks of life and a range of engineering disciplines.  We have experts across a very wide field, from electrical machines to biomechanics and everything in between! 

Since 2022, we have been more and more focused on research relating to assistive devices. There are currently three Master’s studies focusing on lower limb prosthetics, one on arm prosthetics and one on electric wheelchairs. 

The team has now started to specifically work on the mobility and geometry of knee and ankle joints in prosthetic devices. We want to identify any areas where we can optimise those joints from mechanical and electronic perspectives. 

What is the ultimate goal for your technology? 

Our main commitment is social impact and affordability - we’re aiming to change lives, one prosthetic at a time. 

We believe that quality healthcare solutions should not be a privilege, but a right accessible to all. Talon ensures that individuals and communities, even in the most resource-limited settings, can afford a state-of-the-art prosthetic leg. 

To achieve this, we want to push the research and development of prosthetic devices to such a degree that these assistive technologies become accessible for any individual who needs them and, more than that, they are maintainable by those individuals without compromising on quality and functionality. 

Can you tell us more about how you're making your technology accessible from the very beginning? 

When we created our design, we were focused on the usability and testability of the device in the hands of the end user.

This means that the parts are designed to be as simple as possible, without compromising functionality or safety for the user. 

We also wanted to make sure that the user would be able to maintain their device easily and without needing lots of technical knowledge. So, to completely disassemble, maintain and reassemble the device, the end user only needs the use of a single Allen key.

Do you want to compete in other disciplines in the future? 

Yes, absolutely! We are not only interested in one discipline, we want to make assistive technologies accessible across a range of devices!

Our goal is to compete in an additional discipline with every CYBATHLON. This year, 2024, we are starting with the Leg Prosthesis Race. And then in 2028, we are aiming to enter the Wheelchair Race as well. 

In fact, if everything goes to plan, we may be able to enter the Arm Prosthesis Race as well. 

What made you want to take part in CYBATHLON? 

The opportunity to showcase our technology and research on a global scale, alongside some of the biggest names in the world of assistive devices. 

It’s also a really great opportunity to meet other people working in the same field, who are experiencing similar challenges to us and creates the possibility of being able to collaborate with other teams in the future. 

What are the current challenges in leg prosthesis development? 

The challenges are mainly in the manufacturing of the device’s components. We’ve seen that many of the components require such a high level of accuracy on such a small scale that it’s really hard to find a manufacturer capable of creating them. 

 How is your team’s preparation and training progressing for CYBATHLON 2024? Could you share some insights into your routine and any challenges you’ve encountered? 

Our timeline has definitely seen some changes, but we are still well on track to meet our deadlines! 

To make sure that our timelines stay realistic, and we can identify and mitigate any risks in good time, we have scheduled bi-weekly meetings with all the key members of the team. This helps keep everyone on the same page. 

Something we’ve adopted when planning and creating timelines is Hofstadter’s law, which states that “It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law”. It has really helped in making our timelines as realistic as possible while still allowing for any unforeseen occurrences. 

Do you want to see the Talon device in action? The NWU Eagles will be competing in CYBATHLON 2024 at the Swiss Arena, Kloten from 25 October - 27 October.  Make sure to grab a ticket early so you don’t miss out! https://cybathlon.ethz.ch/en/cybathlon-2024/ticketing