Purpose and Objectives

Commitment to "independent walking*".

The number of people who need assistance in their daily lives due to various reasons such as illness, accidents, aging, etc. is increasing worldwide. The number of people who need assistance in their daily lives due to various reasons such as illness, accidents, aging, etc. is increasing worldwide, and both the person providing the assistance and the person being assisted are burdened mentally, physically, and financially. On the other hand, the development of robots in the field of welfare is a field that is difficult to invest in from the perspective of market size.
As public infrastructures and barrier-free systems have been improved, people can now use wheelchairs to lead their daily lives without any hindrance, but the reality is that activities are still limited in places that are not equipped with such systems. For example, when you visit a friend's house, there may be steps in the entrance or corridor, or there may not be enough space for a wheelchair. In such cases, if there is a robot that can be used indoors and outdoors without worrying about barrier-free access, people with disabilities can enjoy their lives more.
We will hold a lifestyle support robot contest to support researchers and developers from around the world, with the aim that innovative tools that enable wheelchair-bound people with lower limb paralysis or other disabilities to ""walk independently"" using their remaining functions without the support of caregivers will be widely used in the world.
(1) Shorten the time required for practical application by holding the contest at a venue close to the real environment.
(2) Community building among participating teams, promotion of sharing of ideas and technical information, and friendly competition

*In this contest, independent walking is defined as the ability of a wheelchair-bound person with a disability such as paralysis of the lower limbs to walk on his or her own feet without assistance from others or without using a wheelchair.