:00:00. > :00:40.but before that it's time for Click.
:00:41. > :00:44.This is the world's first bionic games.
:00:45. > :00:47.This is an arena in Munich and around 2,500 people are getting
:00:48. > :00:50.ready to cheer on some of the most extraordinary athletes
:00:51. > :00:54.This is an event for people with bionic arms, robotic legs,
:00:55. > :00:57.motorised wheelchairs and brain controls, but it is not just
:00:58. > :01:00.a challenge for the competitors, who are going to be called pilots
:01:01. > :01:02.today, but also for the technologists who created these
:01:03. > :01:10.They are awesome, this is going to be awesome and this
:01:11. > :01:15.66 teams from all over the globe have been designing,
:01:16. > :01:19.building and training for this very unique competition.
:01:20. > :01:21.Disabled athletes, here known as pilots will be competing
:01:22. > :01:31.The Cybathalon is the brainchild of this man, Robert Reiner,
:01:32. > :01:38.a professor for sensory motor systems in Munich.
:01:39. > :01:41.a professor for sensory motor systems at ETH Zurich.
:01:42. > :01:43.It's an event for people with disabilities who are allowed
:01:44. > :01:47.to use any kind of technology, technology that helps them to better
:01:48. > :01:52.So we are focusing on challenges of daily life and by allowing
:01:53. > :01:54.technology we can also include people with very severe
:01:55. > :02:02.I'm most excited about this notion that scientists and technologists
:02:03. > :02:06.spend the entire year inventing these crazy bionic limbs
:02:07. > :02:11.and then everyone comes together to compete in this celebratory way.
:02:12. > :02:13.It's fantastic, it's such an extraordinary expression
:02:14. > :02:18.Each of the six disciplines will have qualifiers in the morning
:02:19. > :02:20.before the grand finals in the afternoon.
:02:21. > :02:23.How do you win? Simple.
:02:24. > :02:27.Get round the course or through the obstacles
:02:28. > :02:29.in the shortest time while incurring the lowest
:02:30. > :02:36.Well, that's what it's all about but this is where
:02:37. > :02:41.We're looking at challenges that are real day-to-day activities,
:02:42. > :02:43.something like getting through a door in a wheelchair
:02:44. > :02:56.As we move towards here we're seeing something that shows
:02:57. > :03:00.The arm prosthesis race involves being able to open a bottle,
:03:01. > :03:03.open a can, cut bread and as we head further in this direction,
:03:04. > :03:06.there's different types of bumpy floor and when it comes
:03:07. > :03:08.to the exoskeleton race, the leg prosthetic race and also
:03:09. > :03:11.the motorised wheelchair race, there are various challenges
:03:12. > :03:15.they have to cross over and in fact, the stairs are looking like one
:03:16. > :03:17.of the real highlights to that wheelchair race.
:03:18. > :03:20.That's something I'm looking forward to seeing,
:03:21. > :03:24.they've got to be able to get up and down at the end of the course
:03:25. > :03:28.Back to you, Spen, what do you have to show us?
:03:29. > :03:31.Our first event of the day is the Powered Arm Prosthesis Race,
:03:32. > :03:34.a series of tasks designed to really test those robotic digits,
:03:35. > :03:46.and this is what goes into making a robotic arm.
:03:47. > :03:50.This sensor can pick up my signal by pasting this sound
:03:51. > :03:57.So this one is the flexor muscle and this one is the extended muscle
:03:58. > :04:08.and the third one is the thumb muscle.
:04:09. > :04:17.So the competitors are using just two signals to operate this thing.
:04:18. > :04:20.The whole system can analyse the images, directly translate
:04:21. > :04:41.Maybe we can win because of that point.
:04:42. > :04:44.Yes, the Powered Arm Prosthesis Race is not just about power,
:04:45. > :04:49.it is also about precision and reliability.
:04:50. > :04:55.The teams need to come up with the very best ideas
:04:56. > :04:57.to help their pilots grip, twist and balance their way along
:04:58. > :05:07.The race is designed to test how well pilots can work
:05:08. > :05:11.complete tasks that would typically be challenging for them.
:05:12. > :05:14.Yes, this is the race where the mightiest tech
:05:15. > :05:20.in the world can be foiled by the humble clothes peg.
:05:21. > :05:23.What's the next challenge that you feel you could reasonably
:05:24. > :05:33.What's amazing is the huge variety in designs for these prosthetic
:05:34. > :05:36.hands, some have five fingers and some only have two but as long
:05:37. > :05:40.as it does the job, you have the freedom to design these
:05:41. > :05:43.The ultimate victor was a group of biomechanical engineering
:05:44. > :05:48.Together with their pilot, Bob, himself an expert in prosthetics,
:05:49. > :05:50.they went for a more established body-powered approach.
:05:51. > :05:52.This means that physical movements like reaching forward
:05:53. > :06:04.or lifting your shoulders are used to control the device.
:06:05. > :06:07.While this gold medal idea might have won the day,
:06:08. > :06:11.in the end just crossing the line was enough to send most
:06:12. > :06:18.The training for Cybathalon certainly seems as intense as any
:06:19. > :06:20.athletics event and how about this for focus?
:06:21. > :06:23.These pilots have complete or severe loss of moter function
:06:24. > :06:26.and are using a brain controlled interface to take part in a virtual
:06:27. > :06:59.He pilots and navigates obstacles which seem easy to those with two
:07:00. > :07:01.legs but are really tough for traditional prosthetics
:07:02. > :07:04.and it was a contender from Iceland's Rio Knee
:07:05. > :07:15.Now as amazing as all the events are today, the next one
:07:16. > :07:17.you might think is particularly unusual,
:07:18. > :07:20.because you are not going to see any mechanics or any robotics.
:07:21. > :07:22.This is called FES, functional electric simulation,
:07:23. > :07:26.and it's a bike race between two riders who are using their legs
:07:27. > :07:46.The deal is, both riders are paralysed, they cannot
:07:47. > :07:48.ordinarily move their legs and they are using electrical
:07:49. > :07:50.signals to trigger the muscles in their legs.
:07:51. > :07:54.I had a trampoline accident back in 2011.
:07:55. > :07:57.And I became what is known as tetraplegic, I have issues
:07:58. > :08:02.with moving all four limbs, my legs completely I cannot move.
:08:03. > :08:05.My arms and hands, I have difficulty moving.
:08:06. > :08:12.Technology for disabled people is quite expensive these days,
:08:13. > :08:14.if more technology firms and universities collaborate
:08:15. > :08:18.they can make the technology more available for disabled people.
:08:19. > :08:22.To prepare for the Cybathalon I have been doing about one hour a day
:08:23. > :08:32.I have the arm cycles as well and we are not allowed to use that,
:08:33. > :08:39.so I had to do some testing to make sure that my legs are up to speed.
:08:40. > :08:43.At the minimum, I'd like to be in the top three, although I think
:08:44. > :08:46.I'm doing very well, I still do not know what is going
:08:47. > :08:52.It's not like the Paralympics where you sort of have a base rate
:08:53. > :08:57.already, it has happened before, everything is a bit in the unknown,
:08:58. > :09:20.so until I get there, who knows what will happen.
:09:21. > :09:24.Well, Jolie wanted third or and his wish came true.
:09:25. > :09:26.He was second fastest of all the qualifiers
:09:27. > :09:29.which placed him in the final showdown against Mark Moon
:09:30. > :09:37.As the heat continued, you can see that timing
:09:38. > :09:39.was everything, if the electrical pulses do not fire
:09:40. > :09:42.at the right time, you can end up pedalling backwards.
:09:43. > :09:46.Another thing that became clear, this is a physically exhausting
:09:47. > :09:49.event and that's actually a good thing, as the creator of the bike
:09:50. > :09:58.Normally, people with spinal injury, they have wasted muscles,
:09:59. > :10:04.One guy here with more muscles than I have.
:10:05. > :10:07.Now, there are two different techniques of FES that we have heard
:10:08. > :10:09.of, one that you stick the electrodes
:10:10. > :10:17.are actually implanting the electrodes in the legs.
:10:18. > :10:22.We only use adhesive electrodes or shorts,
:10:23. > :10:25.we already made shorts with electrodes on, you put them on,
:10:26. > :10:27.but they implanted it, the Americans implanted it.
:10:28. > :10:29.It's a little bit better for racing performance,
:10:30. > :10:33.but most of them do not want it, it is very expensive,
:10:34. > :10:38.if it gives trouble and they have in the past, you have to take it out
:10:39. > :10:46.This can just be used by any person with a spinal injury almost.
:10:47. > :10:50.And it was against an American with implants that Johnny found himself
:10:51. > :10:51.in the grand final. And after a monumental
:10:52. > :10:58.effort from both pilots, it was Mark Moon who out
:10:59. > :11:00.rode Johnny to win. You looked seriously focused there,
:11:01. > :11:03.how did it feel for you? It felt amazing, going really fast,
:11:04. > :11:07.I thought I was going to beat him, Went too high and had a bit
:11:08. > :11:24.of a reverse effect. That's it for the short version of
:11:25. > :11:29.Click at the side battle on. Please check out the full-length version,
:11:30. > :11:33.there's so much more amazing stuff available on iPlayer right now and
:11:34. > :11:37.you get me through the week on Twitter @BBCclick. Thanks so much
:11:38. > :11:39.for watching and we'll see you soon.