This Founder Is Using 3D Printing And Robotics To Turn Disabilities Into Superpowers

Entrepreneur and engineer Joel Gibbard, MBE is utilizing his ardour for robotics to construct bionic arms, turning disabilities into superpowers. After studying about 3D printing and robotics at school, Gibbard co-founded OpenBionics in 2014 to marry the 2 applied sciences and disrupt outdated fashions of prosthetic gadgets. The corporate, primarily based in Bristol, England created the primary totally built-in 3D printed bionic prosthesis with its Hero Arm, which inserts from beneath the elbow. Gibbard and his co-founder, Samantha Payne, a former journalist, are main a large shift in how prostheses are perceived – by those that put on them, and others.

Gibbard and his workforce just lately supplied two wounded Ukrainian troopers with prosthetics after being contacted by a non-profit group who thought the Hero Arms may play a task in serving to their purchasers be handled like heroes.

Amy Guttman: How is the Hero Arm completely different?

Joel Gibbard: We take the scale and measurements and 3D print one thing prepared to suit the affected person. Whereas, historically, an area prosthetist would order numerous elements after which construct a prosthesis. The Hero Arms is the lightest weight bionic arm accessible. It’s fabricated from nylon. And ours is an built-in product. Meaning we are able to have built-in designs with swappable covers which have an empowering aesthetic that helps individuals to really feel assured.

Guttman: What about performance?

Gibbard: The performance is a multi-grip bionic hand, so the fingers can transfer independently. You’ll be able to have completely different grip modes to carry out completely different duties. This compares to a few of the extra conventional palms which simply open and shut.

Guttman: How did you provide you with the concept for various coloured covers and characters from Marvel, Disney and Star Wars?

Gibbard: After we began designing the Hero Arm we took a user-first strategy; we interviewed a whole lot of individuals with higher limb variations and began to grasp their wants. We discovered that individuals with higher limb variations usually have this problem round feeling assured in themselves and the way in which they understand their limb distinction. We realized when you design it the proper means, the prosthesis can assist individuals to understand their limb distinction in a very constructive gentle. It may possibly additionally assist others understand their limb distinction in a constructive gentle.

Guttman: Greatest shock?

Gibbard: There’s a number of innovation on this area. The issue isn’t a number of these improvements make it to market as a result of it is arduous to get by way of the medical rules and thru all of the reimbursement and monetary aspect of issues. The opposite factor that stunned me was that it took a very long time for 3D printing and design applied sciences to make it into this sector. Our firm was one of many first pioneers to essentially push 3D know-how into this {industry}.

Guttman: How did you discover your co-founder?

Gibbard: I had launched into a mission to provide a 3D printed robotic hand. At that stage, it was very, very early. Samantha was working interviewing tech startups and she or he was keen about doing issues with a constructive social profit. She had been engaged on wearable tech. It was the right marriage with the technical experience on my aspect and on her aspect, the drive to do one thing that was going to have a constructive social impression. We benefitted from her communication abilities – expressing clearly what we had been attempting to do, which helped elevate funding, win competitions, grants and construct a workforce.

Neither of us had a enterprise background however we had discovered this chance. No person else was doing it and no person else did it for numerous years.

Guttman: How have you ever raised funds?

Gibbard: We first raised cash by way of getting into competitions. We entered Intel’s Make It Wearable competitors and gained about $250,000. We additionally entered Robotics for Good within the UAE and gained, which gave us one million {dollars}. So, early on, we obtained substantial non-diluted funding. In 2017/18, we began getting fairness funding and we have raised over $10M from a mixture of non-dilutive sources and buyers.

Guttman: Do you would like you’d had a co-founder or advisor with expertise constructing a enterprise?

Gibbard: I feel it could have made a distinction for us if we might had anyone from the start who had particular {industry} expertise. It in all probability would have short-cut some errors for us. We took a user-centered strategy to the design and to our firm and we’re very happy with that, however it additionally meant that we did not focus a lot on the wants of different vital stakeholders within the course of, like medical professionals and payers, and their necessities. We have managed to make adjustments to make sure that we’re addressing their wants successfully, but when we might had somebody with enterprise expertise and industry-specific expertise it could have helped us attain a few of these conclusions sooner. My recommendation is to talk to as many specialists as you may.

Guttman: What recommendation do you’ve gotten concerning funding?

Gibbard: Pursue no strings-attached funding. We gained, in some circumstances, huge prize cash as a result of ours is a particularly visceral product the place individuals instantly perceive the impression.

OpenBionics has places of work in Bristol, Denver and Heidelberg. They at the moment distribute within the UK, U.S., France, Germany and Australia with plans to increase distribution to 10 different international locations.