Meet Benjamin Choi, 17, who built a $300 mind-controlled prosthetic arm
Benjamin Choi developed an accessible prosthetic arm during the pandemic. This device interprets brain waves and head gestures for control. His invention significantly reduces the cost of advanced prosthetic limbs. Choi's work earned him recognition and funding for further research. He continues to advance machine learning applications in his career.
Benjamin Choi, a 17-year-old from Virginia, created a $300 mind-controlled prosthetic arm that doesn’t require brain surgery. In third grade, he watched a 60 Minutes documentary about a mind-controlled prosthesis and was impressed but alarmed by the risky surgery and high cost. During the pandemic, Choi found himself with free time and decided to build a less-invasive prosthetic arm.
He formed a makeshift laboratory in his basement and used his sister's $75 3D printer to print the arm in small pieces, assembling them with bolts and rubber bands. The arm uses EEG to interpret brain waves and costs around $300 to manufacture, compared to a body-powered prosthesis that costs $7,000 or a full-arm Modular Prosthetic Limb that costs $500,000.
Choi's invention earned him a spot in the top 40 finalists of Regeneron Science Talent Search and funding from MIT. He has won several awards, including Simons Fellowship at Stony Brook University and awards at Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair and Microsoft Imagine Cup. Choi is currently an AI researcher at Harvard University and is expected to graduate with degrees in applied math and computer science.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
