Van der Lely Foundation x Project MARCH
Van der Lely Foundation supports the development of an exoskeleton for people with spinal cord injuries
Stichting Moving Bird, the foundation behind Project MARCH, will receive a multi-year contribution of €150,000 from the Van der Lely Foundation. The contribution supports the further development of an exoskeleton designed to provide greater freedom of movement for people with spinal cord injuries. The contribution will be spread over three years.
Project MARCH is a student team from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) working on exoskeleton technology. The team is developing a powered exoskeleton that takes over the movements of the paralysed lower body, enabling the user to stand and walk.
An important principle within Project MARCH is that the technology is developed not only for, but above all together with, the user. The team therefore works closely with a pilot who uses and tests the exoskeleton. The pilot’s experiences and feedback provide the team with valuable insights to further improve the design and ensure it meets the user’s needs as closely as possible.
Advancing the technology
Project MARCH has been working on the development of exoskeleton technology for several years. Students build on the knowledge and experience of previous teams.
“Project MARCH shows how technology can be used to address a very concrete societal challenge. Students are working on an innovation that could provide greater freedom of movement for people with spinal cord injuries in the future. With our contribution, we are helping to advance this development over the coming years,” says Joop Ham, Director of the Van der Lely Foundation.
“The multi-year support from the Van der Lely Foundation is extremely valuable to Project MARCH. With our new two-year development cycle, we have more time not only to design and build new functions for the exoskeleton, but also to test, evaluate and improve them multiple times together with our pilot. This allows us to better substantiate technical decisions and advance developments further before the next team builds on them. The multi-year support gives us the continuity to maintain and deepen that development across different teams,” says Roos Plaum, Operations Manager Project MARCH XI.
The Van der Lely Foundation supports Project MARCH for three years with an annual contribution of €50,000. This provides multi-year financial support for the further development of the exoskeleton.
About the Van der Lely Foundation
The Van der Lely Foundation is an independent foundation established by the Van der Lely family. The foundation supports social initiatives that contribute to a better future by investing in projects in education, healthcare, culture and climate. The focus is on initiatives that help people move forward and create long-term social impact.
Pictured left to right: Roos Plaum and Imelda de Keijzer sign a contract with Joop Ham of the Van der Lely Foundation