Fandom-inspired prosthetic arms are a growing trend

 

Thanks to the rise of Maker culture and the increasing accessibility of home-brew technology, geek fandoms and DIY enthusiasts are finding an exciting new common ground.

 

For example, video game company Konami has decided to commission a prosthetic arm for Metal Gear Solid fan James Young, teaming up with the Alternative Limb Project, reported the Daily Dot.

 

Konami is working with Sophie De Oliviera Barata of the Alternative Limb Project on the Phantom Limb Project, which aims to build a prosthetic arm for Young, who was recruited for the project by Barata. Young lost his arm and leg in a train accident.

 

“(Young) was incredibly enthusiastic, positive, and as we could see from submitted photos of him standing on glaciers in Iceland, he was not letting his condition hold him back,” Phantom Limb Project manager Su-Yina Farmer said in an interview with the Daily Dot. “James was an avid gamer and had mastered one-handed gaming (using his mouth to control one of the thumb-sticks).”

 

The arm’s design will be inspired by MGS though it won’t be a replica of Snake’s arm in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, the storyline that inspired the project.

 

You can follow Barata’s progress on Young’s arm at the Phantom Limb Project blog: www.thephantomlimbproject.com. Young will receive his new arm by January 2016.

 

This isn’t the first time that fans have received prosthetics with fandom-inspired designs. In March this year, Robert Downey Jr. presented an Iron Man bionic arm built by Albert Manero, who founded non-profit prosthetics charity Limbitless Solutions, to seven-year-old Alex, who was born with a partially developed arm.

 

 

Carlos Arturo Torres Tovar from Sweden’s Umeå University has also developed LEGO-compatible prosthetic arms where the hand piece can be replaced with LEGO toys.

 

The Independent also reported that Disney teamed up with Open Bionics to create prosthetic arms with designs inspired by Frozen, Iron Man, and Star Wars. 

 

According to Open Bionics’ Joel Gibbard, they wanted to help children without adding any additional stigma.

 

 

“Young kids are mostly born with a limb difference. One of the things that upsets them is when people ask ‘how did you lose your hand’. It makes them feel there’s something missing,” he said. “The power of these prosthetics is that the public perception is completely different. All of a sudden they’re not being asked how they lost their hand, they’re being asked where they got their cool robot hand, how does it feel, and how does it work?”

 

The arms are controlled by electric signals from the owner’s muscles and can monitor muscle development. The Iron Man arm can display muscle signals using LEDs on its surface, allowing doctors or parents to see “what’s happening under the surface.” A motor in the arm that mimics recoil from firing a rocket can also help determine the strength of the user’s grip.

 

Open Bionics worked with Disney technicians and engineers for three months as part of a program that pairs start-ups with large companies. The arms are expected to cost less than USD 3,000 each and are targeted for sale before the end of 2016. — Bea Montenegro/TJD, GMA News