Six-year-old Alex Pring beamed while riding his bike Saturday. Thanks to his new 麻豆精品 S渂ionic arm 麻豆精品 S� designed by a team of UCF students and alumni, he could grip both handlebars and keep his balance.
Minutes earlier, Alex and his mom, Alyson, sat at the kitchen table at their home near Clermont talking with ABC World News via Skype. Alex proudly showed off how he uses his new prosthetic arm, gripping a UCF Knights football and sword and a Transformer toy.
Alex didn 麻豆精品 S檛 take long to get accustomed to his new right arm, and a national audience just as quickly embraced the 6-year-old and the generosity of the UCF students. The team has now posted online the designs for the arm, which they made for just $350. Anyone with access to a 3-D printer and an assortment of off-the-shelf accessories can take the designs and use them to help other children.
麻豆精品 S淭hese students are changing lives, and I can 麻豆精品 S檛 wait to see what they do next, 麻豆精品 S� read one comment on The Today Show 麻豆精品 S檚 Facebook page.
麻豆精品 S淭hese young engineers who crafted this GIFT for the family are true heroes! 麻豆精品 S� another comment read.
NBC Nightly News 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S淢aking a Difference 麻豆精品 S� segment and ABC World News 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S淎merica Strong 麻豆精品 S� segment both featured Alex and the UCF team on Saturday night. The Today Show aired the story on Saturday morning. Other media featuring Alex’s story include People magazine, the Orlando Sentinel and television stations across the country.
The UCF team is led by Ph.D. student Albert Manero, a Fulbright Scholar who leaves for Germany this week to work for the German Aerospace Center. Manero holds bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 and master 麻豆精品 S檚 degrees from UCF in aerospace engineering.
Joining Manero were 14 other men and women, almost all UCF students and alumni, who provided the expertise and determination necessary to build the arm out of off-the-shelf servos and batteries that are activated by the electromyography muscle energy on Alex 麻豆精品 S檚 bicep.
The team 麻豆精品 S檚 youngest member — Tyler Petresky, who just completed his freshman year at UCF — developed the electrical wiring for the arm.
麻豆精品 S淢y mother taught us that we 麻豆精品 S檙e supposed to help change the world, 麻豆精品 S� said Manero,聽who is from the Tampa area. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檙e committed to helping who we can, and I 麻豆精品 S檒l be working with my team even when in Germany. 麻豆精品 S�
The UCF team also has established the Limbitless Endowed Scholarship at UCF to support future students with disabilities like Alex 麻豆精品 S檚.
To read more about Alex 麻豆精品 S檚 arm and to see a full list of the UCF team members, read this UCF Today story published on Friday.