We were fortunate to have our good friend Laird Popkin on the show once again. Laird works with the organization E-nabling The Future, which provides 3D printed prosthetic hands and arms to people in need. This is accomplished through a system which pairs those who need the prosthetic with those with 3D printers who are capable of producing it.
Currently the organization has provided over 5,000 printed prosthetics that they know of. All of the technology used, including the 3D models, instructions for assembly, etc. are provided for free to the world, which means there very well could be thousands of these limbs in the world.
The group focuses their efforts on children, as the price of a child's prosthetic can be more than a standard car, but will be grown out of within months. This makes helping these kids difficult through regular medical devices. With the use of this technology, however, the prosthetic costs only about a tank of gas, which is far more manageable.
Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab.
Daniele is a student at Florida Polytechnic University who is studying Computer Science with a concentration in Cyber Security. In High School, she was introduced to the science and technology world through the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), a robotics foundation where students of varying ages can compete through tasks that their robots perform. With help from mentors she met through FIRST, she became interested in programming and developing. Today, Daniele is a special events host for F5 Live: Refreshing Technology and PLuGHiTz Live Special Events and a co-host for both The New Product Launchpad and FIRST Looks.
