On April 13 to 17, the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva was held in Geneva, Switzerland. The project “A walking robot with a fall protection stick” conducted by Prof. Jian Huang and Ph. D. candidate Jingyang Yan won the silver medal in the Exhibition.

A walking robot with a fall protection stick is a novel intelligent walking aid robot for rehabilitation. It is designed mainly for the elderly with certain action capability. It can realize the online intention estimation for the user’s movement and has the function of walk-aiding in compliance with the user’s intention and needs. This invention has attracted a wide range of attention from international expert judges and visitors due to its effective intelligent rehabilitation and security functions, comfortable human-machine interaction and lovely appearance.

International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, founded in 1973, is one of three great exhibitions of inventions in the world, which is co-organized by WIPO and Swiss federal government. As one of the longest and largest invention exhibitions in the world, it is an important stage for world inventors and also an international platform for the conversion of industry, education, and research with high and new technology. Ten universities in China attend this exhibition, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Zhejiang University, Harbin Institute of Technology, Dalian University of Technology, University of Science and Technology of China, Northeastern University, Southeast University, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), and 34 innovation projects are displayed in the exhibition. Apart from the School of Artificial Intelligence and Automation, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, School of Mechanical Science and Engineering and School of Life Science and Technology of HUST also take part in this exhibition. HUST has won two gold medals and two silver medals, ranking top among other participating universities.