"College
kids make robotic arms for children without real ones"
By:
Daphne Sashin
Source:
CNN
Cynthia Falardeau's son, Wyatt was
born with his right arm matted in amniotic bands. The doctors were afraid Wyatt's body would become infected leading
him towards death, so they amputated Wyatt's dead forearm and hand when he was
just a week old. Cynthia mourned her son's missing arm for years, but she later
embraced who her son was - a survivor. Wyatt learned to adjust. He tried a
couple of prosthetics when he was a kid, but each time he abandoned them. A friend
of Falardeau's, with Wyatt in mind, suggested a story from the "Today Show,"
about a team of University of Central Florida (UCF) students and graduates that
created an electronic arm for six-year-old Alex Pring, using a three-dimensional
printer on campus. Hearing this, Falardeau became defensive and rejected the
suggestion, but her son had a different reaction. He said he wanted one of
those robot arms so he could finally do things like ride a bike, do a proper
somersault, clap, etc. Understanding this, Falardeau got in touch with the
Orlando students through E-Nable, an online organization that was made to help
children in need of hands and arms. The UCF team is special because it is the
only 3-D volunteer network producing electronic arms. "The UCF project
started when Albert Manero, an engineering doctoral student, heard a story on
the radio about one of the inventors of the 3-D printed hand. He got involved
with E-Nable and met Alex, a local boy teased because of his missing arm, and
set about designing a robotic replacement. They gave it to Alex for free"
(Sashin, 1). After this story was featured in national news, families in more
than twenty-five countries contacted the UCF students to provide aid for their
children. Petresky got included
with the design of Pring's hand because Manero knew he was great with electronics.
Eventually Manero moved to Germany for a Fulbright scholarship, leaving
Petresky in charge. Petresky asked every family about their child's interests,
so they can make the new limb "not just be a piece of plastic
... but be a part of them" (Sashin, 1). Cynthia was happy to see her child
being admired for who he was. Her son told her that he could now wait for her
to see what he could achieve with his new arm. He also mentioned that someday,
he wants to go to UCF, to help kids that are in a similar situation.
This article is important as it
shows what changing the world for the better looks like. These UCF students and
graduates use technology to change the world. They believe that they are
supposed to make the world better and by believing that, they do.
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