They run marathons, ride bikes, dance and play football. As ordinary as that may sound to us, there’s a hint of impressive difference to the tale — they do so on legs made of cane! Bengaluru-based engineer-turned-inventor, Arun Cherian didn’t think it possible until he made it. Now back from the Cybathlon (considered Cyborg Olympics) in Zurich where he trained two amputees to participate and win, he tells us more about being the pillar of support that amputees in India literally need.
“I never intended to start a company,” he says, honestly. An advanced robotics engineer in biomechanical locomotion in the US, Arun was researching and developing cutting-edge devices like wearable exoskeletal suits for US marines.
“I took some time off from doing my PhD in Purdue University to help my sister with her wedding in Kerala. I noticed cane, bent into furniture and how it was strong enough to carry the weight of people. But could it be bent to make a leg?” That’s the curiosity-based question that led him on a journey of customising cost-effective, lightweight cane legs – something that the 32-year-old has since not looked back on. Arun even quit his coveted PhD programme, and he tells us, that he was okay to make that choice. “Here was a problem that needed to be solved and I was genuinely making a difference in people’s lives by giving them a chance to walk again,” he explains.
Since setting up his company, Rise Design Labs in 2015, he and his team of three, have fit 49 people and over 2,000 of them are on the waitlist for their own canes of hope. “There have been several challenges including perception issues where people believe that the cane might break or doctors doubting its durability. The challenge is to show them otherwise,” he says. Now working on improving how it fits, Arun says 2017 is looking up for Rise Legs. “With backing from International Red Cross, several hospitals are currently testing it for clinical trials. Colleges like MIT, where I’ve a fellowship from, and the IITs are helping us with technology,” he says, continuing to build on his invention.
Although it seems like he has his plate quite full, Arun insists that he is now working hard on leading a balanced life. “I believe that art is the highest form of engineering and I have always been into theatre. I even helped out a Bengaluru-based theatre production house with their sets that needed to be shipped to locations across the country,” he says, even as he juggles his jujitsu classes and perfecting the ukulele. For him, it’s all about getting a leg up on time and tech!
