When avid video gamer James Young lost his left arm in a grisly railway
accident in London several years ago, video game developer Konami teamed
up with leading robotics engineers to craft him an innovatively unique
prosthetic. When we checked in on
Young’s progress
last November, Konami and prosthesis designer Sophie De Oliviera Barata
intended to design the arm similarly to the prosthetic worn by the
protagonist in
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. After
spending the past six months on the project, Young’s prosthetic is
complete — and it’s even more outrageous than originally thought.
Fitted recently at Barata’s studio, Young’s prosthetic connects
directly to his shoulder’s remaining nerves and muscles which control an
articulated plastic hand installed to the end of the arm. As in most
prosthetics, sensors attached to the skin surrounding his shoulder
detect movements and send the necessary movements through the arm and
hand. Standard procedure, sure, but it’s the arm’s extras which truly
steal the show.
Designed and installed by a company called Open Bionics, Young’s
prosthetic boasts a working flashlight, a USB port built-in to the wrist
for charging a smartphone, a laser light, digital watch, and best of
all: a fully functioning drone. That’s right, not only did Young regain
use of his left arm with the help of Konami and a team of world-class
prosthetics designers, but his new arm features an operational UAV
that he can fly whenever he wants.
“I didn’t want to look like the Terminator because my job involves
talking to doctors about the drugs they use, I didn’t want to look as if
I’m going to kill someone,” Young told the BBC
in a recent documentary.
' Developed in conjunction with the Konami-created
Phantom Limb Project,
the hope is that it the United Kingdom will eventually medically
approve the arm for use by other amputees across the country. Weighing
ten pounds with both the harness and battery attached, Young’s arm isn’t
necessarily light as far as prosthetics go but he did acknowledge that
it doesn’t hinder him in any way. As of now, the arm will remain
attached to Young via the harness though attaching it via titanium
implants is likely the next step.
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