Technology unlocks new possibilities for people with disabilities

“TIGHTEN the straps, hold the handles, push and up!” At the rehabilitation centre of startup RoboCT located in Hangzhou, in east China’s Zhejiang province, Mr Wang, wheelchair-bound for more than a decade, slowly rose with the aid of an exoskeleton robot — drawing applause across the room.

- DOU HAO

Engineer Nie Peng, who also uses a wheelchair, shared the moment. A former auto mechanic, Nie sustained a spinal cord injury over 10 years ago that left him paralysed from the waist down. “When I realised I'd spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, my world collapsed,” he recalled. Prolonged immobility led to muscle atrophy and complications such as infections and blood clots.

Physically disabled and emotionally withdrawn, Nie shut himself indoors like many paraplegic patients. “I was either sitting or lying down, and my health kept deteriorating,” he said.

RoboCT, founded in 2017 in Al Town at Hangzhou Future Sci-Tech City, develops and applies exoskeleton technologies. “An exoskeleton is not just an iron frame strapped to the body, but a wearable robotic system that integrates advanced information technology and mobile computing,” explained founder Wang Tian.