Science

Paralysed woman walks with MARCH exoskeleton

She may have needed crutches and been surrounded by catchers, but paraplegic Sjaan Quirijns walked. She was wearing robotic trousers, built by the student team MARCH III over

Sjaan Quirijns is a sportswoman who had a crippling accident 17 years ago. Yesterday evening, she walked again. Wearing the MATCH III exoskeleton, she stepped right up to the fascinated audience. The only sound in the room was the robotic trousers’ joints and pistons, and photo shutters. When she turned towards the audience and said how wonderful it was to look people in the eye again, a spontaneous applause broke loose.