The Cybathlon is a global “assistive technology Olympiad” that was recently held for the 3rd time in October 2024 in Switzerland. It aims to promote new technology innovations to tackle real-world challenges faced by a people with a variety of different disabilities. Participation requires a research and development team working together with a person with a disability who “pilots” the technology in a timed race composed of different tasks that encompass daily activities and/or barriers. My team from the British Columbia Institute of Technology competed in the Wheelchair Race and decisively won the race by being the only team to complete all 10 tasks. 

I am a former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player and currently the director of a broad research program that includes several projects aiming to design better devices for people with disabilities. A primary focus of my work is better wheelchair designs, especially those that improve autonomy and increase a user’s ability to participate in more activities and in more environments, including environments that are normally considered inaccessible to wheelchair users. Results of previous work include: the Elevation wheelchair which allows users to quickly change their seat and backrest positioning “on-the-fly” to better suit different daily activities (including elevating to reach shelves or talk with people standing); and the Swivl™ “stow & roll front wheel” which can instantly change a highly maneuverable daily-use wheelchair into a more capable and stable off-road device for easier wheeling on rough surfaces like trails and grass.

The wheelchair we designed to compete at the Cybathlon was nicknamed the “BEAST” (BCIT Extending Articulating Wheelchair for Serious Terrains). It was designed to be driven by a person who would normally use a joystick-controlled power wheelchair for daily life. And it was designed to ascend and descend staircases (including a curved staircase); maneuver “indoors” tightly around tables and objects; travel “outdoors” over uneven terrains, steep side-slopes, and an 8” high barrier; elevate the user’s height more than 30 cm; pick up a bottle of water off the ground and place it on a table; and open a door, move through the doorway, and close the door behind you, all without any physical input by the pilot.

At the Including Disability Global Summit 2025 I will present the story of the BEAST: our wheelchair design philosophy and goals to improve accessibility and autonomy, my motivation behind competing at the Cybathlon, and describe the competition event while showing attendees a video of the winning run.