Taking a step towards self-walking robotic exoskeletons

Brokoslaw Laschowski is using his interdisciplinary education — spanning four academic degrees — as a toolkit to integrate robotics technology with rehabilitation medicine. While pursuing his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Laschowski decided to intersect his passion for human biomechanics and engineering design by working with Team Canada wheelchair athletes as a researcher in Paralympic sports. 

“I gained a deep appreciation for the awesome capabilities of individuals with different physical disabilities,” Laschowski says. “It was inspiring because here you have athletes that are not only performing at the highest level of sport, but also overcame significant sociocultural and physical barriers.” 

Working with Paralympic athletes gave Laschowski the opportunity to study the engineering design and optimization of wheelchairs using mathematical models and computer simulations, with support from his supervisor Dr. John McPhee. His master’s research on high-performance wheelchairs led to his work on wearable exoskeletons that assist activities of daily living for his doctoral degree in Systems Design Engineering, again supervised by McPhee.  

“I started to learn about the limitations in exoskeleton technology and where there is room for improvement,” Laschowski says. “Although these devices are promising, we don’t yet really see wearable robots being used in the real world.”