Trevor Wrn
Someone once said that "necessity is the mother of all invention" and this achievement I believe is indicative of that. Well done keep up the good work. Often things are over complicated and made far more expensive than they should be in reality.
Christopher Chappell
I'd like to mention that I've been working with Easton on this project for nearly a year. My expertise has been in the design of the 3D printed parts, whilst he's been focused more on the electronics side of things. Also it was my contributions that went into the robohand design and can be seen on thingiverse (Search for username: Anthromod).
I want to say that Easton is a great guy to work with and certainly can achieve his goals. However the media does gloss over the level of collaboration involved.
We have quite a few further projects in the pipeline. Within a few days we will be testing out a functional finger prosthesis. The cost of which would be a few percent of the competitions. We have exoskeletons and biped robots on the drawing board. We have some upcoming further additions to the robohand, inspired by the 3d printed cast idea, which we hope to present soon. We are also working on customised hands for Universities such as the piano playing finger for Drexel University. All whilst fullfilling our successful Kickstarter campaign rewards. So all in all a busy next few months!
JDS
Amazing advancements by mere children. The prosthetics industry should be ASHAMED at charging the prices they do, like the 80,000 arm! I doubt super low cost prosthetics will ever see the light of day as corporate (GREEDY) America has a way of killing true entrepreneurship and innovation!
Al Martin
Great ideas soon to be implemented without a factory of workers!
mvp
Congratulations to Easton LaChappelle on his own inventive and frugal working design that will one day bring hope to thousands who need such devices but at a fair, marketable price.
As a high school teacher, I am very proud of his focus and ambition to succeed for the betterment of others. I wish more students would exhibit his passion regardless of their specific interests.
The world looks forward to seeing future product designs from Easton!
Tracie Ewing
As the parent of an amputee (leg) it's always awesome to see this type of innovation. But I'm tired of hearing how these innovations will be so beneficial to amputees in other parts of the world, and I wonder when then headlines will say "..will aid amputees right here in the USA." My son requires a new leg about every two years, each new leg costs upward of $30K AND, they aren't covered by insurance because they're classified as non-durable medical equipment. I'd be thrilled to find there was a $500 alternative. When will we start providing affordable alternatives to our amputees here at home?
EastonL
@Tracie
My Intent is very much so within the US. This will probably be the strongest market for something like this and it's a lot easier to adapt it to someone a few states away then a few countries away. Feel free to email me (njkl44@gmail.com), I've been thinking about leg prosthetics for a while and definitely see the need!
Thanks! Easton
Seth Miesters
This is a great hack!
Fretting Freddy the Ferret pressing the Fret
Now, now. No need to shy away from the rest of the world. Helping another human being in need of a higher quality of living with this is always a noble vision to hold and fight for, fellow countrymen or not. :)
At the same I am also aware of some medical procedures and their ridiculous cost in the USA compared to the rest of the world. This will certainly add much needed competition!
Best of luck.
John Hogan
Great work guys! As with the oculus rift, we're at a stage now where a motivated person or small group can do a lot with very little money. As with any other innovation in any other era, it clearly takes a vision and dedication. A bit of nerdy excitement doesn't go astray either :-)
Time for me to put a few of my ideas into reality!