Kids with missing limbs get a chance to feel like a super hero with the 3D-printed prosthetic glove inspired by the gauntlets used by Iron Man to fight bad guys.
The glove was created by Pat Starace, a mechanical designer from Pat Starace Research & Development who said he wants to put "fun" in functional when building prosthetics, according to Tech Times.
Users put on the glove by taking the hand's electric module and the casing off the base of the wrist, securing the glove on their wrist with its anchors, and snapping it closed. Kids can close the fingers in a grabbing motion by titling their forearm down, and spread their fingers out by lifting their forearm back up.
Bending the hands upward activates the thrusters in the palm, and bending them down turns on the red LEDs in the gauntlet, lighting them up the same way Tony Stark's gloves do, SlashGear reported. Voice commands are also included, but extra details have yet to be revealed.
Starace designed the glove to be able to work with NFC, RFID and other types of hardware. A demo video shows the gauntlet featuring an Arduino and a Lipo battery, a USB port and Bluetooth connectivity.
The gloves also come with a container on the back for holding gadgets that kids can use to make their lives easier, Tech Times reported.
"The hand is a container for modern tech: microcontrollers, wireless devices, smart watches, sensors, accelerometers, NFC, RFID, and almost anything else," Starace said.
The glove has yet to receive a real-world use. Starace said he plans to make the gauntlet free for families and team up with e-Nable, a volunteer group that supports 3D-printed prosthetics and helps children in need, to continue his work.
