Nigerian-made bionic arm named among TIME’s best inventions of 2026

The Ubokobong Bionic Arm, a prosthetic developed by Immortal Cosmetic Art in Nigeria, was recently recognized by TIME magazine as part of its Best Inventions of 2026. Published on October 15, 2026, the list included the myoelectric arm, which is controlled by muscle signals, under the accessibility category.

According to TIME, the story of the Ubokobong Bionic Arm began on New Year’s Day 2019, when Ubokobong Amanam lost his fingers in a fireworks accident in Nigeria. At the time, Amanam found it challenging to obtain a prosthetic that matched his skin tone. His brother, John, a special-effects artist, created a hyperrealistic hand for him. They subsequently established Immortal Cosmetic Art to produce lifelike prosthetics for other Black amputees.

John Amanam, who has a background in technology and electronics, worked on a functional prosthetic that would also be realistic. This resulted in the creation of the Ubokobong Bionic Arm. The magazine reported that the firm, based in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, had already received orders from the United States, Britain, Australia, and Ghana before its official launch in August 2025.

TIME stated that prosthetics remained inaccessible or unaffordable to many Nigerian amputees. John Amanam, the firm’s CEO, emphasized that the arm was designed for Africans by Africans. The arm took approximately three years of research to develop, though no official launch date has been announced.

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