Colorado Teen Designs Robotic Arm With 3D Printing 68
coolnumbr12 writes "A Colorado teenager has used 3D printing to create a robotic prosthetic arm that is fully functional and costs less than $500 to make. At TedxMileHigh in Denver, Colo., 17-year-old Easton LaChappelle demonstrated his robotic arm, and how he constructed the arm to keep costs low. 'So in the end, I built this robotic arm up to the shoulder which was extremely strong,' LaChapelle said. 'It could toss balls to you, it could shake your hand, it could pretty much do anything a human could if you program it correctly.'"
I can see the big boys killing this (Score:3, Insightful)
Not a gun (Score:4, Insightful)
And this can't happen without capitalism! (Score:5, Insightful)
Every time I hear someone say that artists won't create without being paid. That's a lie. It's the publishers who want to be paid. Artists just want to create and not die of starvation but artists don't need to be paid -- they can get jobs too.
This guy is an artist. A brilliant artist, but an artist just the same. He doesn't just engineer things. He creates things.
My heart will sink when I see some giant company snatch this guy up and the things he makes get marked back up to that $80,000 mark again.
We see what's wrong with the world and "the system" (we say the system so we don't have to blame people directly right?) and we just go on without saying anything about it. I hope people start saying things. You don't have to do anything -- just say something. Say something to businesses out there. They might ignore you or me, but they won't ignore everyone -- they can't.
Change the world. Just say something.
How Many Patents Did He Violate? (Score:2, Insightful)
That's the real question.
Re:I can see the big boys killing this (Score:4, Insightful)
Who dares, Wins