On December 3rd, the Symbionics program was granted by STW! This program contains six projects and the focus is on providing adaptive support.

More and more people with disabilities in everyday life rely on support from devices, or so-called “assistive device”. Such tools improve the ability to keep moving, even if for example muscles are weakened. The traditional mechanisms are static and do not adapt to the environment or a specific task. The objective of this program is to develop devices that adjust automatically to the (changing) characteristics and needs of the user. This is achieved by combining clever designs with adaptive control systems. The patient or user can thus better cope with changes, such as increase of disease severity, changing environments (for example walking on another surface) or changes in duties, which benefits the independent functioning.
(Source: website STW)