After winning a gold medal at the 2024 CYBATHLON Competition in Switzerland, the BCIT MAKE+ CYBATHLON team has once again earned international recognition for its revolutionary wheelchair, the BEAST.
On September 17, 2025, the paper, BCIT’s BEAST wheelchair takes on Cybathlon with power, precision, and pilot-led design, was published in peer-reviewed scientific journal Science Robotics. The paper highlights the team’s gold-medal success and the innovative engineering behind their award-winning wheelchair.
The CYBATHLON is a global competition that inspires teams to design innovative assistive technologies capable of tackling real-world obstacles. In the Wheelchair competition, teams design a device that can navigate challenges like doorways, tight indoor spaces, inclines, staircases, and more.
Stability, versatility, and maneuverability
The MAKE+ CYBATHLON team, led by BCIT MAKE+ Director Dr. Jaimie Borisoff and engineering researchers Garrett Kryt and Rory Dougall, harnessed expertise in mechatronics, human factors, and fabrication to meet the challenge. In just nine months, the team built the BEAST (BCIT Extending Articulating wheelchair for Serious Terrains). The BEAST is a powered wheelchair designed with stability, maneuverability, and versatility in mind.
Features include:
- A three-wheeled delta configuration for precise steering and maneuverability.
- An extendable wheelbase to ensure stability on stairs while retaining agility indoors.
- Adjustable seating and articulating leg support that double as robotic “arms” for manipulating doors and objects.
- Fully electronic drive-by-wire controls, adaptable for users with diverse control needs.
What’s next for the BEAST?
Through the CYBATHLON competition, the BCIT MAKE+ team successfully pushed the boundaries of what powered wheelchairs are capable of. Building on this success, the team is looking to create the BEAST 2.0 which will include an advanced manual wheelchair with attachable power-assist features, and a wheelchair system that allows direct involvement from the pilot. The MAKE+ team will also continue exploring emerging mobility technologies to shape the future of robotic wheelchairs and prepare for BCIT’s entry in the 2028 CYBATHLON competition.
Read the full paper in Science Robotics, authored by Garrett Kryt, Rory Dougall, and Jaimie Borisoff.
About BCIT MAKE+
MAKE+ makes lives better through creative solutions driven by interdisciplinary applied research. By collaborating with local stakeholders, including industry, academic institutions, and students, MAKE+ develops groundbreaking technologies that make a real difference, enhancing lives and elevating British Columbia’s global competitiveness.
As the sole academic applied research group in Canada operating under the ISO 13485 (Medical Devices) Quality Management System, MAKE+ ensures a rigorous product development process. This includes thorough reviews, risk assessments, and meticulous records management, guaranteeing the best outcomes for their partners. This user-focused innovation model leads to safe, effective, and market-ready products that enhance lives worldwide. The group’s diverse research team excels in evaluation, ergonomic assessments, health, consumer and industrial technology development, automation, and electronics, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to every project.