Jason Dorrier — Singularity Hub
While traditional sports only grudgingly accept technological augmentation, the 2016 Cybathlon, a kind of hybrid between the XPRIZE and Olympics, embraces it with both robotic arms. Disabled competitors (or pilots) will compete using assistance devices like powered exoskeletons, robotic prostheses, and brain-control interfaces.
We’ve chronicled the continuous evolution of such technologies over the years, but they’re still largely out of reach for most folks.
It’s exciting to think that so much progress has, and is being made, in these technologies. I believe the public’s awareness will go through the roof once they are demonstrated at the upcoming World Cup. Specifically, this will be where much of the world will see a paralyzed teenager wearing a mind controlled exoskeleton will do the initial kick of the ball to start the games.