A live online conversation with Jonas Grau Thomsen
An Exoskeleton Test Pilot's Story
This event is free to attend. For those who can, we invite a recommended voluntary donation of £10 to support the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation. You are welcome to attend whether or not you donate.
Back in late 2025, we had the idea of hosting a promise auction. That is where this event began.
We should stress that this event is not a promise auction. But our search for supporters who might be willing to promise something led us to somebody with a truly unique and inspiring story.
Jonas Grau Thomsen, the first exoskeleton test pilot.
Quite simply, we could not say no to the opportunity to host a live conversation with him about technology, disability, limits and inclusion, particularly as we enter the AI era.
Jonas lost the use of his legs as an infant. He went on to work with exoskeleton technology, helping people with disabilities explore possibilities that once would have been considered impossible.
But this is not a talk about exoskeletons.
It is a conversation about limits, and who imposes them.
Some limits are real. But some limits result from people's assumptions. Some are imposed by systems, rules or environments created for a world that was not built around people with disabilities.
Many of the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation's beneficiaries and supporters are clinically vulnerable.
While their experiences are not the same as Jonas's, there are clear connecting themes.
Many clinically vulnerable people understand what it is to live in a world not designed with their needs in mind. They have lived experience of what it means for education, work, healthcare, travel, family life and general participation in public life to become harder, riskier or less accessible.
For some, the barrier is mobility. For others, it is vulnerability to infection. For others, it may be fatigue, including extreme fatigue caused by a condition such as long COVID.
The question for all of us is the same. How do we help more people participate fully in the world?
We do this because we believe clean air is not simply a health issue. It is a participation and inclusion issue.
In this live conversation between Jonas and our trustee John Muir, Jonas will talk about his journey from losing the use of his legs as an infant to becoming the first exoskeleton test pilot.
We will explore how technology can help people discover where their real limits lie, how lived experience shapes innovation, and how the AI era may create new and exciting opportunities for disabled and clinically vulnerable people if inclusion is a starting objective.
Technology does not remove every limit, but it may help us break through other people's limits and discover where our own really lie.
There will be audience interaction and time for questions.
The conversation will explore:
One question we will explore is why fictional characters with disabilities, from Darth Vader to Long John Silver, are often seen as powerful, cunning or resilient, while real people with visible disabilities or prosthetics are more often perceived as limited.
So join us on 19 June to listen to, and interact with, a truly inspiring speaker.
This event is free to attend. For those who can, we invite a recommended voluntary donation of £10 to the Corsi-Rosenthal Foundation.
This is optional. If you cannot donate at this time, you are welcome to attend and participate.
Your donation helps the Foundation continue its work promoting cleaner indoor air and safer, more inclusive environments for clinically vulnerable people.
Make a voluntary donationThe event will take place online on Friday 19 June, from 20:00 to 21:30 BST. Please register so we can send you the joining details and event reminders.
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