Indian-origin teen creates low-cost robotic arm

A 17-year-old Indian-origin student has won accolades for an inexpensive robotic arm he created for his school science fair project in California.

Nilay Mehta was awarded a blue ribbon award — an accolade that recognises a student’s academic excellence — for his project.

His project qualified for the Orange County Science and Engineering Fair where he won four first-place awards, the

Daily Pilot reported recently.

Nilay, a student of Irvine Public School in California, spent over four months building and programming the robotic arm to replicate the movements of a human hand.

Contrary to the high-end prosthetic arms that cost about $35,000 (Rs. 22.3 lakh), Nilay’s arm can be purchased for $260 (Rs. 16,500). The robotic arm, which has a microphone attached, operates on voice command.