Keynote Presentation, AI for Good Global Summit 2024 (feat. Nicolas Simon & Charlotte Fairbank)

In this talk

1. 0:26

   A family experience shaped the mission

   Simon founded Wandercraft after studying engineering and AI, with a personal motivation: Charcot-Marie-Tooth affects several members of his family and can lead to loss of mobility. He wanted to build technology that could help wheelchair users walk at home and in public.

2. 2:16

   Building a robot that can balance

   Wandercraft’s humanoid system uses 12 motors and multiple sensors, processing information 1,000 times per second to calculate stable movement. Simon described walking as a difficult control problem, especially for two-legged robots. After 12 years of research, the company launched Atalante in 2019 for rehabilitation, helping more than 2,000 patients practice walking after strokes.

3. 4:14

   Fairbank demonstrates personal use

   Charlotte Fairbank, a wheelchair user with complete paraplegia after an accident, demonstrated Wandercraft’s personal exoskeleton. She showed different walking speeds and modes, used a handheld joystick to move, and explained how a back sensor responds to her posture when standing or sitting.

4. 9:14

   AI advances and broader access

   Simon said newer machine-learning methods are enabling the device to manage slopes and stairs, with vision sensors also in development. He noted that Medicare decided in April 2024 to cover personal exoskeletons, potentially expanding access for many people with spinal cord injuries in the U.S. Wandercraft aims to scale production and lower costs for a wider range of mobility needs.

5. 12:39

   The next generation

   Simon said future versions are intended to be slimmer, lighter, and better suited to uneven surfaces and challenging settings. He expects development to continue quickly as the company improves the device.