This exquisite, 3D-printed robotic arm is changing the way we think about prosthetics

When you're preparing to meet the founder and CEO of a startup that makes myoelectric prosthetics — those controlled by the electrical signals that muscles produce naturally when tensed up — you probably expect to come face-to-face with an idealist. You can almost imagine the reply when you ask the million-dollar question, "So what inspired you to help others?" Surely there's some backstory involving a loved one losing a limb and a lifelong desire to give them back their mobility.

That's not the case for Genta Kondo, the co-founder and CEO of Tokyo-based Exiii. When Kondo entered Tokyo University's Yokoi Lab, a testing ground for rehabilitation-focused robotics, he wasn't setting out on some idealistic mission to make the world a better place. Back in 2008, he was solely attracted to the science behind the lab's prosthetic hands and power-assisted mobility devices. Read more...