Kenyan innovators turn ewaste to bio-robotic prosthetic

Gathu, 30, a self-taught innovator, demonstrates the operation of a bio-robotic prosthesis using brain-signals created using salvaged electrical components, mechanical parts, plywood and rubber bits at a makeshift laboratory at Thogoto village in Kikuyu municipality, Kiambu county. — AFP

NAIROBI: Two portraits of Albert Einstein hang on the walls of a makeshift laboratory on Nairobi’s outskirts, inspiring a pair of self-taught Kenyan innovators who have built a bio-robotic prosthetic arm out of electronic scrap.

Cousins Moses Kiuna, 29, and David Gathu, 30, created their first prosthetic arm in 2012, after their neighbour lost a limb in an industrial accident.