New Lego Prosthetics Technology Enables Kids To Make Own Limbs
Cecille Marie Gumban | | Jul 17, 2015 10:43 AM EDT |
(Photo : Getty Images/ Oli Scarff) The Lego-compatible prosthetic arm lets kids design their own hand for their own comfort.
The prosthetic arm that can be fitted with Lego bricks is known as Iko. The Lego-compatible prosthetic arm lets kids design their own hand for their own comfort.
The person who created the said prosthetic arm project is Carlos Arturo Torres, of the Umea Institute of Design in Sweden. He wants the world to know that he and his team can do a lot more than just look nifty and flash LEDs.
Like Us on Facebook
Torres designed Iko for his final project at university in 2014; it's a prosthetic arm for children that also acts as a platform for creative Lego projects, according to CNet.
Torres wanted to fight disability stigmas using Legos because he grew up in a war-torn country, which is Colombia. There, he witnessed firsthand how an armed conflict can destroy civilian lives.
One of the kids Torres helped at the time was a Colombian boy named Dario, who was born with a congenital malformation in his right forearm. Because of his condition he was required to wear a prosthetic arm.
While Dario was born with his condition, there are other children in Colombia who are permanently injured by land mines and other collateral damage from the war each year, Upworthy reports.
In his thesis at Sweden's Umea Institute of Design, Torres said, "The needs of a disabled child are many of course. The physiological needs of replacing a lost part of their body is one of the priorities, but taking a look at this phenomena through the eyes of the armed conflict shows that the psychosocial needs are a big part of a person in disability."
The project made by Torres and his team was awarded the prize for Open Design Student in the 2015 Core77 Design Awards earlier this month, Yahoo Tech has learned.
According to Yahoo Tech, discussing the reason behind his thesis, Torres wrote: "The needs of a kid in disability are not always related to physical activity but often alternatively the social and psychological aspect; sometimes a functional element is everything they need, but some other times it might be a spaceship, or a doll house, or a telescope, or a video game controller."
He added that if kids use their own imagination to create their own prosthetics, they will have the freedom to choose their own tools according to what they need while letting them hone their creativity and enjoy their time as kids.
Iko was made and designed so that children can collaborate and bond with each other, and not only to help them manage their disabilities, but to also let them feel that they are not isolated and different because of the prosthetics they use, as per CNet.
TagsLego, Prosthetics, Prosthesis
©2015 Chinatopix All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission
EDITOR'S PICKS
-
Did the Trump administration just announce plans for a trade war with ‘hostile’ China and Russia?
-
US Senate passes Taiwan travel bill slammed by China
-
As Yan Sihong’s family grieves, here are other Chinese students who went missing abroad. Some have never been found
-
Beijing blasts Western critics who ‘smear China’ with the term sharp power
-
China Envoy Seeks to Defuse Tensions With U.S. as a Trade War Brews
-
Singapore's Deputy PM Provides Bitcoin Vote of Confidence Amid China's Blanket Bans
-
China warns investors over risks in overseas virtual currency trading
-
Chinese government most trustworthy: survey
-
Kashima Antlers On Course For Back-To-Back Titles
MOST POPULAR
LATEST NEWS
Zhou Yongkang: China's Former Security Chief Sentenced to Life in Prison
China's former Chief of the Ministry of Public Security, Zhou Yongkang, has been given a life sentence after he was found guilty of abusing his office, bribery and deliberately ... Full Article
TRENDING STORY
-
China Pork Prices Expected to Stabilize As The Supplies Recover
-
Elephone P9000 Smartphone is now on Sale on Amazon India
-
There's a Big Chance Cliffhangers Won't Still Be Resolved When Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Returns
-
Supreme Court Ruled on Samsung vs Apple Dispute for Patent Infringement
-
Microsoft Surface Pro 5 Rumors and Release Date: What is the Latest?