Robot suit for the paralysed wins top prize
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A robot suit for people who are paralysed waist down won the top prize in Robot and Automation Contest for Manufacturing Processes 2014 (RACMP 2014) last month.
The competition, backed by the Science and Technology Ministry, Thailand Centre of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) and National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), aims to boost skills and knowledge on robotic science and |automatic systems.
The team from Sripathum University won Bt50,000 as part of their Robot and Automatic System for Society award for the Exoskeleton for Lower Limb Assistance project.
The exoskeleton aims to help people with physical limitations in their daily life. This project will help the patients stand and walk on their own, thus reducing the cost of hiring a nurse.
The suit can be adjusted to fit the patient’s legs and can support up to 140 kilos. It recognises manual commands from the patient and remote commands by the assistant.
This suit can be manufactured locally, thus cutting import costs, and can be sold to other countries if it meets international standards.
The second place was won by the team from King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), which was given Bt30,000 for its Deep Vein Thrombosis Monitoring and Prevention System.
This system was designed to work as a physical therapy machine for patients who have undergone leg surgery and are not mobile. This system prevents patients from any complications related to deep vein thrombosis and reduces bedsores.
Doctors will also be able to check the therapy result, pulse rate and blood flow online. This machine too can be made in the country.
Other than these two products, teams also created robotic and automated systems for industrial purposes, and the winner in this category was a team from KMUTT, which won Bt50,000 for its Flexible Automated Material Transport Vehicles.
