Paraplegic in robotic suit made the first kick of the World Cup last night

Some have criticised the lack of coverage given to the historic event, saying it wasn't even shown on TV.

Fri, 13 Jun, 2014 - 11:13

Ciara Flaherty

A paraplegic man made the first kick of the World Cup last night using a mind-controlled robotic suit.

Juliano Pinto, 29 - who is completely paralysed from the waist down - performed the symbolic kick-off at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo during the opening ceremony of the tournament.

Mt Pinto kicked the ball a short distance down a mat using the robotic suit.

However, some viewers were unhappy that this historic event was not given the attention it deserved - especially from TV networks.

A paraplegic in an exoskeleton kicked off the #FifaWorldCup but very little has been spoken/shown. That's replay worthy!! #OpeningCeremony
— Vikram Mehta (@MehtaMorphosis) June 13, 2014

The robotic suit was created by a team of more than 150 researchers led by Brazilian Dr. Miguel Nicolelis. The suit works as a conduit between the user's brain and his or her paralysed limbs, interpreting the signals through electrodes attached to the wearer's head. The signals are then translated into movement by the skeleton, causing the user's legs to move.

Dr. Nicolelis works at Duke University in the US and has spent 30 years developing brain-interface technology. The researchers have been working on the exoskeletons as part of the Walk Again Project. In a statement, they said the World Cup demonstration would be is just the beginning and that soon "people with paralysis may abandon the wheelchair and literally walk again".

Dr. Nicolelis tweeted his delight at Pinto and the robotic suit's World Cup debut.