Featured Image Credit: @handsolo99/Instagram
Topics: Technology, Science, Lego
Bec Oakes
You may think Lego is all fun and games, but David Aguilar created the world's first functional Lego prosthetic arm when he was only 18 years old. Impressive, right?
You can take a look at his mind-blowing creations in the video below:
Now, he's studying bioengineering in the hopes of helping provide affordable prosthetics, saying nobody should have to pay up to €100,000 ($106,000; £87,000) for one.
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Aguilar, who was born with Poland syndrome - a disease that prevented the formation of his right arm and pectoral muscles - got his first Lego kit when he was five years old.
He told The Guardian: "My parents realised it was a great way to improve my dexterity. I just kept going, building planes and cars. I even built a guitar."
Then, at age nine, David built his first prosthetic arm using Lego Technic - a more advanced range of the building blocks. He managed to come up with a basic box he could fit his arm inside.
Nine years later, he made another prosthetic, called the MK-1, which came with a movable elbow joint and grabber to pick things up.
David has continued to refine his prosthetic, making several versions all made from Lego bricks.
"My latest model, the MK-V, is the most advanced and comfortable yet," he said.
"It has a control unit that can send and receive orders from sensors on the arm to the motors, with cables that contract like muscles."
He now has a YouTube channel, Hand Solo - pun approved by Disney themselves, who agreed to let him use the name with its play on Star Wars character Han Solo.
He uses the channel to teach others how to build his prosthetics.
Ironically, David does not use the prosthetics himself. A few years before building his first prosthetic arm, his parents had looked into getting one but they were extremely expensive and weren't provided by the government.
"I thought, maybe I don’t need one because I’m doing just fine. I look a little bit different, but that’s OK," he said.
"It’s kind of ironic that I don’t use the prosthetics myself, but by the time I started making them I had already adapted to my condition. I make them because it’s fun."
Now, David is studying bioengineering so he can help provide affordable prosthetics to those who need them.
He explained: "A lot of people don’t have the resources to buy a prosthetic because they can be very expensive.
"Some prosthetics are cheaper than others, but the top-notch advanced models can cost as much as an Aston Martin. So my goal is to try to make some that are more affordable.
"I don’t like injustice in life, such as bullying, or the fact that someone may have to pay up to €100,000 for a prosthetic. People shouldn’t pay that much - it’s not a luxury."