3D Printed Robotic Hand Hits Kickstarter

Robotics have rarely been described as cheap, and when it comes to hands and arms this is especially so. With just an arm costing upwards of $10,000 it's clear why research and development of prosthetic limbs is an expensive pursuit. Chris Chappell and Easton LaChappelle are seeking crowd funding from Kickstarter to help change this.

Their aim is to use 3D printing to really bring down the costs of production for robotic arms, with the long term goal that it will give the community a standard for hand design it can work with, and a method of production that won't break the bank. They aim to use the money to invest in material costs, more bespoke electronics and software, and to refine the physical designs of the hand.

Both have very impressive backgrounds when it comes to this, with Easton focusing on electronics and production and Chris on the designs that will be produced. They already have a prototype that has been created with a 3D printer, whilst it isn't as functional at this stage there is a lot of scope for potential.

Could this be the future of prostesis? It certainly makes sense to bring it's production as close to the users as possible. With 3D printers becoming rapidly more comcerially viable, the world of tomorrow really could have a robot in every household.

Source: Kickstarter