Oct 9 2013
Self-taught engineer Easton LaChappelle, who recently met President Barack Obama and whose work has been featured in Popular Science and Popular Mechanics is due to deliver a talk at Wits University tomorrow, Wednesday, 9 October 2013.
Easton LaChapelle
The 17-year-old has received global attention for his revolutionary upper limb prostheses which costs just a fraction of the standard price. LaChappelle’s foray into the world of robotics began six years ago when he attempted to build a robotic hand using Lego pieces. Using online resources he taught himself about sensors, motors and coding allowing him to manipulate the hand to carry out basic movements. This project saw him participate in the 2011 Colorado State Science Fair where he won the third place prize for his project.
During the competition he was challenged to build an affordable prosthetic arm after an encounter with a young girl wearing a prosthetic arm costing about R800 000, a cost that is out of reach for most people. Since then he has made great strides in improving his first model and has developed a more functional prosthetic arm and hand.
Apart from being part of TedX, LaChappelle has worked on NASA’s Robonaut project at the Johnson Space Centre and was placed second in the world in engineering at the 2012 International Science Fair. Born in Colorado, LaChappelle is in South Africa as a guest of the South African Institute of Electrical Engineers (SAIEE).