A few months ago, CAD House donated a Cubify 3D printer to Robohand to assist with building our print farm.

Today, after Robohand had a meeting with Bernard, the owner of CAD House, he graciously gifted Robohand a scanner and sculpting software. This is a great enhancement tool for Robohand.

The sponsorship of the Cubify 3D printer, the Sense scanner and Sculpting software, now makes a complete Cubify package for Robohand.

Thank you to Bernard and CAD House for your generosity and willingness to help out Robohand.

CAD House has just launched their CAD Lab which encompasses a complete 3D Development solution with membership plans to suite every budget. Not only do they offer great products and software but now you can sign up for a membership to use their awesome products.

Visit them at http://www.cad-house.co.za/ for more information or via Facebook https://www.facebook.com/3DPrinterRSA

]]> http://www.robohand.net/2014/02/technology-today/feed/ 0 http://www.robohand.net/2013/04/through-the-eyes-of-a-stranger-2/ http://www.robohand.net/2013/04/through-the-eyes-of-a-stranger-2/#comments Tue, 09 Apr 2013 16:35:00 +0000 http://www.robohand.net/2013/04/through-the-eyes-of-a-stranger-2/ Continue reading →]]> Written by Annelise Jeske from MakerBot
I first heard about the Robohand project last October when Ivan reached out to MakerBot to see if we might be interested in donating a Desktop 3D Printer to the cause. Gavin, on our support team, sent Ivan’s email along to me and my colleague Andrew, and we found the story to be incredibly inspiring and worth pursuing. It took us a bit of time to get all the right sign-offs, but eventually we were able to donate two MakerBot Replicator 2 Desktop 3D Printers to Robohand – one was sent to Ivan in Washington State and one was sent to Richard in South Africa. For the next few months we followed the project from our offices in Brooklyn, New York. Checking the Robohand blog and sharing the stories with my coworkers became my favorite part of the day.

As the videographer at MakerBot, I kept coming back to the thought that a video about how Robohand is using their MakerBots would be quite powerful. I presented the idea to my team, got approval, and bought a ticket to Johannesburg.

I didn’t quite know what I was getting myself into when I landed in Jo’burg. I’d been Skyping and emailing with Rich for a while by that time and I knew he’d set up time with some of the children using Robohands. But at that point, the trip was mostly fueled by trust and inspiration. I have to admit – my first morning in South Africa was a bit overwhelming. I’d messed up my rental car reservation, my bank had frozen my account, and driving on the left side of the road is way more challenging than I had expected. But when I finally met up with Rich and his lovely wife Beth, all my troubles melted away. They were incredibly warm and friendly and I knew I was in good hands.

On Friday we met with Liam and his family. I shot footage of Liam getting a larger size Robohand and interviewed his mom Yoldandi. On Saturday Dylan came out to Rich’s for his very first Robohand. Seeing the joy on his face the first time he tried on his new mechanical hand and noticing the tears form in his mother’s eyes gave me chills. It was in that moment that I knew that the Robohand story is as precious as I thought it might be – and that I would have the opportunity to share part of that story with the world. On Monday Waldo came with his mom to get a resized Robohand from Rich, and I got the last of the footage for my shot list.

Rich and Beth stuffed gifts into every pocket of my suitcase to bring back to the team at MakerBot, and waved goodbye. I’m back in the States now and can’t stop telling everyone about the wonderful people I met, and the wonderful project they’re working on. I am so honored to be able to take part in sharing this story with the world, and I can’t wait to see what becomes of it.

Go Robohand!

After a busy Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we took Annelise from MakerBot around Johannesburg and showed off a little. We started at the Rosebank Rooftop Market, where there is such a vibrant display of African artistry.

We asked one of the stall owners to please blow a Vuvuzela for Annelise so she could hear that African sound. And then we asked her to imagine 5000 Vuvuzela’s in a stadium and the reverberation that takes place.

We came home for a home cooked meal of Roast Lamb with all the trimmings. We went out for frozen yogurt for desert and then took a stroll around Monte Casino.

All in all it was a fabulous day. Thank you MakerBot for sending Annelise over the pond to SA.

Waldos hand coming for repairs

The last day of the long Easter weekend and Waldo and his mom arrived for his “upgrades” and “adjustments”. Waldo’s first Robohand’s fingers were made slightly smaller and tighter for him to practise his dexterity. His wrist movement has improved dramatically and he has been visiting with Carmen the OT once a week.

Richard reprinted his hand on the MakerBot Rep 2 ready for assembly this morning.

While waiting for the hand assembly to be completed, Waldo was playing on his tablet to pass the time. During discussion with Waldo, he expressed that he is very excited as cricket season starts at school in the next term and he can’t wait to try out for the team with his Robohand.

He has also been practising at home a lot, to pick up things and we have uploaded several video’s to our You Tube account. http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnMi2JjodBWItWmE-zdZmBw

Another long day but we are on the home stretch completing the tension of the cords and making the final adjustments.

Happy days. Waldo’s Robohand is complete and looking awesome. Well done Rich for another outstanding achievement. Waldo we hope to hear great things over the coming months.

Dylan arrived at Robohand this morning for the fitting of his Robohand. There have been several discussions with the family and with Dylan before he decided that he would try out the Robohand. Dylan had some reluctance when it came to the functionality and the aesthetics of Robohand. Being twelve and not having had his hand all his life he was a bit hesitant how Robohand could benefit him.

His mom and dad had surprised him a few weeks ago with a visit to Robohand and the possibility of Dylan receiving a hand.  Dylan loves technology but it was a bit of a shock when he was exposed to Robohand. 

However, he is now inspired and ready to receive his Robohand. Here are pics of the hand cap after fitting before being put together.

Dylan has not allowed his handicap (or smiling hand as he calls it) to hold him back. He is an avid Cricketer and Golfer. He made it onto the Shot-put team and is a swimmer, a chess champion and does triathlon. He is starting to learn boxing too which we think is quite an accomplishment.

We will upload all the pictures taken during the day to our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robohand/260864887366912) but here is Dylan seeing how the hand feels with the fingers on. The cords still need to be attached and everything to be cleaned up.

On Dylan’s elbow is a really nasty scar (on his smiling arm) from a climbing (and falling) accident when he was younger and he had to have a pin put in his elbow. A very determined and capable young man he will try everything once.

Once the basic assembly was complete and Dylan tried on his hand, he wasted no time in trying to pick up the ball! I had already turned off the video after Richard and Dylan had discussed what final adjustments need to be made so I did not catch him reaching over and picking up the ball for the first time ever! It was awesome tho’. We made him do it again and posted a second video after this one.

http://youtu.be/snPIItUStS4

We have come to the end of the day and Dylan’s Robohand is complete and fitted. We got some awesome photo’s and video and he and his Dad were already playing catch in the driveway and Dylan caught the ball.

Well done Richard and Dylan!

A month or so ago, my daughter was given a task at school to go and find new technology and present their findings to the class. After class she went to her teacher to slyly tell her about Robohand and what her Step

Needless to say her teacher got very excited and asked if Richard could come and speak to the class about Robohand. Once he said yes and a date and time was agreed, the news spread through the school like wildfire and before he knew it, he was talking to class after class after class until he had interacted with nearly everyone in the school.

It was truly inspiring for the children and young adults as well as the teachers, that in life, you can accomplish anything! It was validation that what they are learning at school is not for nothing and they can really make a difference in the world, be it a small one or a big one. Most of the older kids were very excited to see how simply Robohand operates and what new things they can create themselves. We even had inquiries from Brazil to use our videos in their classes to assist their children with their studies and innovation.

The message is clear. Think outside the box and you can do anything! Or as one TV advert put it “throw the box away!” Appreciate your education and strive to do your best. As an individual you CAN make a difference but as a Nation we can change the world.

Robohand is not about fame or fortune. The intent is to help people who need it. We are very proud for the work that Richard is doing and are still looking for donations to support his work. As much as we are trying to provide these fingers for free, we cannot do that unless there is funding. At the moment, Richard is providing his time for free and most material costs come out of his back pocket, but this cannot continue.

We are investigating registering an NPO (Non Profit Organisation) but in between life the universe and everything else it is quite time consuming. But we will keep you posted and let you know as soon as we’re registered.

If you would like to make a donation please see the Donations and Contact page for the current banking account details. Your support would be appreciated and goes towards creating a tool to help someone in need.

Liam arrived back at Robohand this morning for some adjustments to his Robohand. He is growing so fast that his hand cap became very tight. Richard remolded his hand cap so that it now fits correctly and does not pinch and is not uncomfortable.

Richard also added the cotton to the tips of the fingers and dipped them in latex rubber for extra grip. 

While Richard was busy doing the adjustments Liam and his brother were very busy drawing and colouring-in at the workbench. 

Richard made the adjustments to the fingers while Liam had the hand on. It’s quite a task for Liam to hold his hand in the closed position for so long while the adjustments were made, but it’s now done and dusted.

Once all the adjustments were made, Liam practiced picking up and throwing the ball. Well done Liam.