School of Engineering News
Bionics Bus Showcases Digital Healthcare Innovation at the Royal Cornwall Show
The Bionics Bus made a strong impact at this year’s Royal Cornwall Show, delivering two full days of hands‑on biomedical engineering outreach before severe weather forced the cancellation of the final day. Despite the shortened schedule, the team engaged hundreds of visitors of all ages with demonstrations of cutting‑edge digital health technologies and interactive activities designed to spark curiosity about biomedical engineering. Supported by volunteers from Cornwall Intellectual Disability Equitable Research (CIDER) via Professor Rohit Shankar MBE, the stand highlighted how high‑tech sensing and wearable systems are increasingly moving from clinical environments into people’s homes. Visitors explored electromyography (EMG) through REBEL BIONICS’ MyoRocket, learning how muscle signals can control prosthetic limbs. They also experienced real‑time brain‑signal visualisation using the Wearable Sensing DSI‑7 dry‑electrode EEG headset, which allowed children and adults to see their brain activity on screen in under two minutes. Day two brought improved weather and even greater footfall. Alongside the EMG and EEG demonstrations, the team showcased a Virtual Reality experience developed by students at Cornwall College Camborne for the Bionics Bus, adding an immersive dimension to the stand. A simple but powerful wellbeing experiment invited visitors to observe how controlled breathing can reduce heart rate and stress - a tangible example of digital health in action. Although the final day of the show was cancelled due to severe weather warnings, the event was still a major success. Across two days, the team held rich conversations with school groups, families, and adults of all ages, promoting biomedical engineering as a career pathway and demonstrating the real‑world value of digital healthcare technologies. This year also marked the first full trial of the Bus’s independent power system. The entire stand operated from a 4kWh power bank, supported by dual 200W solar panels (and occasional top‑ups from the vehicle’s 800W alternator). The system performed flawlessly, proving that the Bionics Bus can run fully off‑grid - a significant milestone for future community outreach in rural or power‑limited settings. With strong public engagement, successful demonstrations, and a fully validated mobile power system, the Bionics Bus continues to grow as a flagship outreach platform for digital healthcare. Planning for the next outing is already underway.

