3D printing is quickly proving that it will revolutionize the world of prosthetic limbs. Now we have one more inspiring story of a teen that has used the technology to make prosthesis cheaper and more accessible.

Easton LaChappelle, a 17-year-old from Colorado, has developed new arm prosthesis with a 3D printer. The advantage lies in its cost of production, which is 160 times less expensive than other available on the market. Using free online resources, he used a 3D printer to create a fully functional prosthetic arm accompanied by a hand with the technology of robotics.

An invention that has earned this high school 17 years student an invitation to the White House, where President Barack Obama took the opportunity to share the discovery and was able to shake hands with this new prosthesis! Other reward, the young Easton is now working with NASA as a trainee, where he contributes to the work of a team that specializes in tele-robotic control.

Works with brain waves

The 3D printed arm can be controlled with an EEG band, which measures brain waves. The user will probably get used to the interface and there will be a period of training, but it’s pretty amazing. The actual movement of the arm and fingers are made by a combination of fishing line and actuators.

When he was 14 years old, he came up with the idea of building a robot hand with Lego. It was for him a challenge, because he did not know anything about electronics and programming.  But the idea made him quickly learned the basics of both electronic and manual modeling programs. The first version of the project earned him third place in the competition science at the University of Colorado in 2011.

There he met a girl who was born without a right hand and wore a prosthesis worth $80,000. Easton was convinced that he could do better. Today, after years of work, he completed the third version of the arm. Its main frame is printed on the 3D-printer, which significantly reduced the price of production, but it did not affect the strength. The finished build robotic hand cost him only $250.

Artificial prosthetic fingers are driven by special actuators by which it maximizes the natural position of the hand. Prosthesis is controlled by the brain with the wireless EEG system that reads special brain signals, interprets them and sends to an artificial hand. The hands are also sensors and vibration motor, so that the user can feel the touch.

This affordable prosthesis shows lots of opportunity and is ideally suited to change someone’s life. The beer manufacturer Heineken has asked to construct and produce 5,000 units of special robotic arms that will serve beer to customers.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, the Colorado teenager showed off his 3D printed arm at TEDxMileHigh. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. You can watch the video of the demo here.

3D technology is now entering into human life not only in technology point of view, but also to serve food. Researchers from Disney have developed a system called AIREAL that when connected to a TV or an iPad allows users to feel objects and textures in the air. This technology allows you to feel virtual objects using portions of the air. Using a special device, almost all of the details are made using 3D tracking technology.

Two graduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Marcelo Coelho and Amit Zoran have developed a new device called the Cornucopia that can literally type food.