Event: UBC ‘body-swap’ robot reveals tricks the brain uses to keep us upright
Media are invited to meet UBC’s “body-swap” robot: a one-of-a-kind machine that lets researchers rewrite the rules of standing upright.
UBC School of Kinesiology researchers built the robotic platform to understand how the brain keeps us balanced, and how it reacts when the forces and timing our body depends on suddenly change.
Falls are one of the biggest health risks for older adults, costing our health-care system billions each year. What if you could briefly feel what an older adult experiences when balance becomes harder? This robot can make that happen.
By tweaking the forces your body normally relies on to stand, the system shows how even tiny shifts can make staying upright a challenge. It gives scientists a safe way to study these effects—something that could never be tested directly on a real person.
On Wednesday, Nov. 26, the team will demonstrate how their platform can make you feel like you’ve stepped into a different body—one that’s a little delayed, heavier or lighter—and how those changes throw off balance. Reporters can even try the “body swap” themselves.
Researchers will share exciting new findings from experiments using the robot, offering fresh clues about how the brain keeps us upright and how future applications might help reduce fall risk. The findings are under embargo until 11 a.m. PST on Wednesday.
Media interested in attending should RSVP to:
sachi.wickramasinghe@ubc.ca
Event: Body-swap robot media demonstration
Date/Time: Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 9:30 a.m. (Demo at 10 a.m.)
Location: Lower Mall Research Station, Room 354, 2259 Lower Mall, Vancouver, B.C. (map)
Parking: West Parkade (map)
Interview opportunities:
- Dr. Jean-Sébastien Blouin, UBC School of Kinesiology (English, French)
- Paul Belzner, former UBC School of Kinesiology master’s student
- Student researchers
Assignment editors: Demonstration begins at 10 a.m. sharp.
