A 5 year old boy in South Africa was given the gift of a brand new, robotic hand. Who gave him such a gift? Two complete strangers that lived over 10,000 miles away!
Liam was born without fingers in his right hand. His mother looked online for solutions that would help Liam live a normal life. Two researchers working on a prosthetic robotic hand, Richard Van As and Ivan Owens, discovered her need and decided Liam deserved a full prosthetic hand.
The two researchers finally finished the product they were working on: The Robohand. It costs less than $150 and will be available for children like Liam who need a device to help them lead normal lives.
Although it was made for a 5 year old just like Liam, the hand could be adjusted so it could be used by kids of many sizes. According to the creators, "Using Makerware, it could be scaled to fit a wide range of individuals. The only thing that would need to be changed is the size of the bolts purchased from a hardware store. The design is open source and in the public domain. We encourage anyone who can make use of this design for any purpose to do so."
Two strangers changed the life of a little boy for nothing in return. Liam, who has been a little boy struggling with his condition for years, can now do most things any other 5 year old can do. We thank these two for their kindness and will keep Liam in our prayers!
(via Huffington Post)