Oct 21, 2015 | By Benedict
New Zealand-based non-profit organisation Give A Hand are raising funds in order to develop their 3D printed prosthesis technology, and to provide a robotic hand for their first recipient, Malaysian graphic designer Ei Chi Tay. The organisation are hoping to raise $20,000 to fund the final development of their prosthetic arm, which uses a Raspberry Pi B2 and which the company have named ”BOB”. Once the technology has been fully implemented, Give A Hand will be able to bring Ei Chi to New Zealand and outfit her with a new bionic hand.
Give A Hand, founded in 2015 by robotics engineer David Drummond, are aiming to “develop an open-source affordable bionic hand prosthesis that can be easily reproduced with 3D printing and low cost computers such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino.” Operating solely on donations, Give A Hand will provide their 3D printable prostheses free of charge to those in need.
David Drummond (right) and "BOB"
One candidate in need of a prosthetic hand from the charity is motion graphic designer Ei Chi Tay. Ei Chi, 26, from Borneo Malaysia, was born without a left hand, suffering from a condition known as phocomelia which affects hundreds of thousands of people globally.
In her hometown of Kuching, Ei Chi entered a number of drawing and art competitions as a child, with great success in spite of her handicap. Her defiance against adversity made her an inspirational figure to others, even at such a young age. She quickly learnt how to go about her business using only her right hand, performing tasks such as tying shoe laces, wearing a watch, and nail painting with her one hand.
Ei Chi Tay
A month ago, Ei Chi’s disability finally caught up with her when she injured her right hand. The injury kept her out of work for a week, which sent the graphic designer into a depression. Realising the potential use of a prosthetic hand, Ei Chi found out about Give A Hand and their 3D printed “BOB” prosthesis. Whilst Ei Chi and BOB could turn out to be a match made in heaven, Give A Hand still need to raise $20,000 in order to finalise the development of their technology. Their campaign has currently raised just over $1,500, and closes on November 9th. That leaves just under three weeks for Give A Hand to raise the remaining $18,500. If you are able to contribute to the cause, or would like to learn more about the project, head over to their givealittle page.
Give A Hand's MakerBot 3D printer. Images from Give A Hand.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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This is an Exiii HACKberry by Japanese Bionics company exiii inc. There is no attribution given here; this is a breach of the open source license agreement. "BOB" was not created by David Drummond.
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