An extraordinary project in Prof. Alon Wolf’s Biorobotics and Biomechanics Lab (BRML) is “tikun olam” (repairing the world) in action. Together with Haifa3D, a non-profit organization, Technion students from across campus are designing and manufacturing customized free prosthetic hands for children.
(l-r) Graduate students Yair Herbst and Shunit Polinsky with Prof. Alon Wolf
This is one of those outreach activities that has a large impact on society and educates our students to become leaders, not just technological or entrepreneurial leaders but leaders in impact. This is the beauty and strength of the Technion.
-Prof. Alon Wolf
The students have perfected a method to make the mechanical and robotic hands inexpensively using a 3D printer. The children are able to choose their own colors and logos for the hands.
Israeli children are not the only recipients: the hands are also made for children in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria and other countries worldwide. Mechanical Engineering graduate students, Yair Herbst and Shunit Polinsky, who lead the project also mentored a group from the West Bank on a visit to the lab.
The designs are provided to the world through the global organization e-Nable, a community that creates and shares open source designs for assistive devices, and they are also shared on the BRML webpage.
Prof. Alon Wolf, head of BRML and Technion Vice President for External Relations and Resource Development explains, “This is one of those outreach activities that has a large impact on society and educates our students to become leaders, not just technological or entrepreneurial leaders but leaders in impact; the impact they bring to society with the knowledge they acquire at the Technion during their studies. This is the beauty and strength of the Technion.”
