Earlier this year, our hearts were lifted when Kansas teen Mason Wilde used a 3D printer to craft a prosthetic “Robohand” for his young friend, nine-year-old Matthew, who was born without fingers on his right hand. Traditional prosthetics can cost upwards of $40,000, but volunteers with groups like E-Nable are now helping other kids with similar conditions, using as little as $45 in materials to craft 3D-printed hands that work via cables and an integrated tensioning system. But it gets even better. We may soon have much more complex, 3D-printable prosthetics using powered-up servo motors instead of simple cabling systems. To wit, Open Bionics won the $200,000 second prize at Intel’s recent Make It Wearable competition for its 3D-printable robotic hand for amputees—the startup says it aims to bring the cost for such a prosthesis down to just $2,000.
Read more about new gadget: TECH TO WATCH IN 2015 AND BEYOND
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