TechKnow: Space Cadet - Full Episode

November 1, 2014 12:00AM ET

WATCH: TechKnow reports on a kid genius at NASA who puts low-cost artificial limbs within reach.

Topics:
U.S.
 

On this edition of TechKnow, Phil Torres looks at an innovation that keeps a heart beating outside the body during transport, a major breakthrough in transplant history.

Contributor Kosta Grammatis meets Easton LaChapelle, a young inventor who is utilizing 3D printing to create an affordable robotic prosthetic arm.

LaChappelle built his first prototype out of electrical tubing, but for the next one, he sought out more realistic materials. He learned modeling software and gained access to a 3-D printer, printing incredibly detailed parts and constructing a functional prosthetic arm that interfaces with the human brain — all in his bedroom. The innovation garnered him public notice for its low production cost, accessibility and functionality, and the teen inventor even got to do his very own TED talk.

Original Air Date: September 8, 2013