Robert Downey Jr. presented a seven-year-old boy with a bionic prosthesis styled by the arm of Iron Man.

Photos from MS OneNote

Actor Robert Downey Jr., who played in the trilogy of the films "Iron Man" Tony Stark, together with the volunteer project Limbitless Solutions presented the seven-year-old boy Alex a bionic prosthesis, made in the shape of his hero's costume.

The Limbitless Solutions project was founded by young engineering scientist Albert Manero, who now works as a graduate student at the University of Central Florida. Their goal is to create artificial limbs for children from low-income families. To date, Albert and his team have achieved impressive results: using 3D printing, they make bionic prostheses for hands that can move, move their fingers and bend. The manufacture of such a prosthesis lasts from 30 to 50 hours, and the cost is $ 350. It took the team 40 hours to create the “Iron Man” hand, from design to production.

“My parents have always urged me to use the knowledge I gained in order to make this world a better place and to dream of a bigger one,” says Albert.
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The Limbitless Solutions project is part of the Microsoft OneNote The Collective Projects initiative, designed to enable students and young scientists to work together on unique ideas and implement them.

Albert and his team have previously collaborated with Alex and made prototype prostheses for him. However, this time a famous actor was attracted to their activities, which was a surprise for a boy who loves films and comics about superheroes.


Photos from MS OneNote

The video, which captures the transfer of the prosthesis, has collected more than 5 million views on YouTube. Downey Junior's involvement can draw attention to what Limbitless Solutions really needs. The hand of “Iron Man” was printed by the team for its own money; young scientists did not take money from the boy’s parents.



If Albert and his team will be able to make their project commercially successful (it is currently unprofitable), then thousands of children from poor families around the world, with congenital or acquired injuries, will be able to get effective and cheap prostheses to make.