David Gathu and Moses Kiuna are two young innovators from Nairobi, Kenya. Despite not being able to afford expensive university fees, their passion for science and desire to help their community has driven them to create an incredible bio robotic arm.

Using any recycled materials they could get a hold of, they have constructed a device that turns brain signals into physical movement. The arm is accompanied by a helmet which converts the instructions from up top into an electrical current known as a NeruoNode, subsequently directing the robot into the desired action. They showed off their device in a video with euronews, displaying its ability to pick up a water bottle and bring it to the user’s mouth for them to take a sip.

This advanced piece of tech was constructed in their at-home laboratory, with iron sheets as walls and a gravel floor. To create this machine out of such bare working conditions and lack of funds is truly spectacular. Their mission was to improve the quality of life of fellow community members who have lost limbs, adding independence and control to their lives.

Kenya is currently facing an electronic waste pollution problem due to donated electronics from more industrially developed nations. These gadgets quickly broke in most cases leading to a build up of materials such as LED lights, optical drives, power units, and many more. Gathu and Kiuna have taken advantage of all this equipment and created a potential use for all that waste.

Affordable and environmental robotic limbs for people around the world is an injustice that still needs to be solved, this prototype is the first step to achieving advances on this front.

Image source: Anadolu Agency