Iron Man, Bionic Child

Robert Downey Jr. and Albert Manero, a Collective Project student who founded Limbitless, surprised a child with a new bionic 3D printed arm at no cost to the family.

More about The Collective Project here:

One thought on “Iron Man, Bionic Child

  1. I have one hand, build stuff (including houses), been member of 2 hackerspaces (still member of one), and am disturbed by this trend.

    My concern is the attitude of the people making these, and the kid’s parents. I know they mean well, but I am sensitive to the possible pity for the child by the makers. Also, parents are apt to feel guilty they have an “imperfect” or “not able-bodied” child.

    My parents (back in the dark ages of the 1960’s) deliberately *ignored* my lack of a hand – and I know it was not easy for them. My father also never met a child labor law he paid attention to. So, in my teens, we doubled the size of our house. Guess who did a lot of grunt work.

    I doubt my parents would have allowed someone to give me one of these. I know I would not allow it as a parent.

    Also, this is not a hand. It is a weak grabber, prone to failure. Better yet are specific tools for specific tasks. I ended up using a prosthetic – with one purpose. The end latched onto a bow. Otherwise, I never used one after learning they were a menace to me and others, and they actually handicapped me.

    Respectfully submitted for thought. Attitude is *all*. The guy I am impressed with is Nick at lifewithoutlimbs (dot) org. Dude Rocks!

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