THE TRIUMPH OF WILL

Kick-starting a robot venture                             

Life has given Muhammad ‘Fahmi’ Husaen a cruel punt.

Now he’s booting back with an invention best described as a robot physiotherapist, so smart it knows when leg muscles need a rub and roll to ward off paralysis. 

Fahmi, 21, a computer program and information systems student at the University of Gadjah Mada Vocational School, has already won awards for an electric car design, but his latest concept is far more significant.
It’s called AVEO (Achilles Physiotherapy Orthosis) and will get its first public showing at an inventors’ fair in South Korea this month (dec). 

Joints which don’t get regular exercise shrink and harden, eventually deforming.  The lower limbs are particularly susceptible, including the Achilles tendon, the fibrous cord that connects the calf to the heel. This can lead to plantarflexion when the foot starts to arch, much like a ballet dancer on en pointe. 

Before entering primary school Fahmi, 21, was told he had Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The rare and so far incurable genetic disorder leads to progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.
Life expectancy seldom went beyond the teens but new treatment is prolonging survival, though not dramatically. DMD affects around one in 5,000 boys.  Girls rarely suffer. Two of Fahmid’s three brothers have similar disorders.

If Fahmi had less spirit and more anger he’d be raging at the world from the wheelchair he’s used since he was ten. Fury erupted when reality hit, then subsided when he realised “this is part of my life.”

“I refused to go to high school for a year because I was so upset,” he said.  “But my mother (high school science teacher Anik Marwati)  (right) asked: ‘If you don’t go to school, what will you do?’ And I had so many ideas.”

Whatever time he has left Fahmi is using every moment positively.

He got his Mom’s message, ignored the schoolyard taunts and excelled.  He saw a video of General Electric Indonesia CEO  Handry Satriago, now 49, who has been in a wheelchair since contracting lymph cancer as a teen.

Apart from his achievements with the US manufacturing conglomerate, Satriago is famous for urging youngsters to adapt, overcome hurdles and create a better world.

“He inspired me with his determination and confidence,” said Fahmi.  “Everyone has strengths and weakneses.  It’s important to stay optimistic, to not give up, to ignore snide comments about handicaps as a divine punishment for sins.

“No religion teaches that sort of thinking.”

Another hero is Stephen Hawking.  The British theoretical physicist and cosmologist died earlier this year aged 76 after spending most of his life in a wheelchair suffering from motor neurone disease – but continued writing and lecturing.

Now Fahmi is turning his personal experiences to benefit humanity by inventing AVEO with two fellow students, Danar Aulia Hasan and Widiyanto.

“I know well that it’s difficult for people in wheelchairs to get out and see a physiotherapist – and they’re not easy to find,” Fahmi said.  “Advances in technology have created new opportunities to help give the handicapped choices and independence.”

Fahmi is one of six Indonesians to be invited to the Seoul International Invention Fair to show AVEO.  He’ll be accompanied by his mother and two classmates.
The fair, first held in 2002, is the largest international invention exhibition in Asia. It is hosted by the Korean Intellectual Property Office and organized by the Korea Invention Promotion Association.
“We are working on our third prototype, “ Fahmi said. “Battery weight is a problem and the flexible shoe needs to be lighter – it’s presently around two kilos. Eventually it will  be linked to the users smartphone so progress can be monitored.


“I don’t know how much AVEO will cost as further development is needed – maybe about Rp 2.5 million (US $175) a unit, though costs will fall with mass production.
“Society needs to do more to help the disabled.  Access to many buildings, and the services they offer, is limited.  Fortunately public attitudes are changing – as they say in Australia, ‘see the person, not the problem’.”

Although UGM is one of the nation’s leading universities its facilities for physically impaired students are far below international standards.  There’s no lift in the building where Fahmi studies so he has to rely on colleagues to carry him up and down stairs.
Having a handicapped child can put huge burdens on a family, often resulting in marriage splits as parents play the blame game.  Marwati said she told her husband Murtandlo (a teacher of religion) he could leave and find another wife when they learned their sons were disabled.
“He refused,” she said.  “He told me: ‘This is something we must handle together as a family’.”
 (breakout)
Kiwi support
Fahmi is one of ten young disabled Indonesians supported with education scholarships from the New Zealand Rehabilim Trust, a NGO based in the capital Wellington.
It was started in 1982 by the late Colin McLennan, a Kiwi social activist. Outraged when he saw crippled beggars in Yogyakarta streets he set up the Yakkum rehabilitation centre, now backed by European charities.

“Designing AVEO  is a tremendous achievement,” said Trust chair Bill Russell.  “We are very proud of Fahmi who is fast becoming an inspiration and role-model.
“Most importantly, he's showing that he can make a valuable contribution to society and help others struggling to deal with their own handicaps.

“This is exactly what the Rehabilim Trust is all about – providing young people in Indonesia with physical disabilities the opportunity and support to receive tertiary education and qualifications to become independent.” 

(First published in The Jakarta Post 4 December 2018)