A lot of us are born with all our limbs at our disposal, something that we probably take for granted. However there are some who are born without a limb, like 16-year old Wan Abdul Halim Wan Soor from Malaysia who was recently gifted a robotic arm, thanks to the efforts of engineers.
The engineers, Muhd Khirul Alif Muhammad and J. Kirupa Sankar, are attached to Universiti Kuala Lumpur’s (UniKL) Malaysian Institute of Marine Engineering Technology (Mimet). The arm features articulation at both the elbow and the fingers, thus allowing the teen to do things that he could not before.
According to the teen, “Finally my dream of having a robotic arm is a reality and I can’t wait to show it off to my friends.” His mother, Rohaini Darus, was equally ecstatic about the arm. “Halim is an active boy inspite of his disabilities. We could not afford to get him robotic arm but now with this help we hope he will have more grit and determination.”
The best part is that the arm was not particularly expensive to make either. It cost the engineers around RM3,150 (~$733) to put together, going to show how such technology that would have cost tens of thousands in the past have become more affordable to the masses.