Lego-compatible prosthetic arm lets kids' build their own hand

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For Colombian designer Carlos Torres, how to best tackle the low self-esteem and social isolation felt by child amputees is about more than finding the the most advanced prosthetic money can buy. His IKO Creative Prosthetic System is aimed at unleashing the creative expression of those with missing limbs, and to do so he's enlisting every child's favorite building blocks. The result is an artificial limb where kids can swap robotic grippers for laser-shooting spaceships whenever the opportunity arises.

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"During my time working in Lego Future lab I realized that you can pretty much can build anything you want with Lego," he explains to Gizmag. "But the key feature of the system for me, is that Lego sets are something you can build with friends and your family. Something that is that social made me think of one of the biggest challenge kids in disability have when facing society."

So with quite a bit of tinkering, Torres finally developed a functioning prototype of a prosthetic that lets kid use their imagination, and their family's, to build their own arm. The interface houses a battery, charging port, processor unit and a pair of myoelectric sensors that track the movement of the stump and convert it into a signal. A separate muscle component then receives these signals and, equipped with a motor and Lego connectors, carries different attachments on the end.

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Torres says the testing exceeded his expectations and he is starting the process of developing a commercial product. He was unable to give any hints on what such a system might cost, but says they are hopeful it will become available sometime between December 2016 and mid-2017.

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