MK-1 Made at Age 17, World's First LEGO Prosthetic Arm Sets Guinness World Record
Recently Published a Book About His Life Story... Also Shares Work on YouTube
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] David Aguila (23), a biotechnology student from Spain, was born without his right arm due to a congenital rare disease called Poland syndrome. As a child, he was a 'loner' who suffered from all kinds of insults and bullying, and his only friend was Lego. He first encountered Lego at the age of five and started making prosthetic arms with Lego "just for fun," holding the Guinness World Record as "the first person in the world to make a Lego prosthetic arm."
Aguila recently shared his life story in an interview with The Guardian. Poland syndrome, which he has, is a condition where the chest wall muscles on one side of the body are missing, and the same side's hand is also affected. People told him, "It is your mother's fault that you were born like this," or made unreasonable demands like catching a ball with a nonexistent right hand. He recalled, "Now, I would just ignore such foolish words, but at the time, they were a huge shock."
He first touched Lego at the age of five. It was a gift from his parents, who thought assembling Lego would be a good way to improve his dexterity. Aguila made airplanes, cars, and guitars with Lego and became deeply engrossed in online videos of more complex Lego creations. He made his first "Lego prosthetic arm" at the age of nine; the first prosthetic was just a simple box to put his arm inside. He lost interest in Lego for several years but picked it up again at 17. This time, he made a much more sophisticated prosthetic arm with fingers, motors, and pressure sensors, including a movable elbow joint and a grabber to pick up objects. Aguila named this prosthetic MK-1 after the suit of the Marvel Comics superhero Iron Man. MK-1 later entered the Guinness World Records as the "world's first Lego prosthetic arm."
In fact, he did not make the prosthetic out of necessity. Several years ago, he and his parents considered purchasing a prosthetic arm, but it was very expensive and not provided by the government, so they ultimately did not buy one. "It looks a bit different to me, but it's okay. It's a bit ironic that I don't actually use the prosthetic, but I had already adapted to my condition (without a right arm) when I started making the Lego prosthetic. I make it because it's fun."
Aguila created videos of his Lego works, which spread by word of mouth, leading to a documentary about him, and last month, he also published a book about his life story.
The book title is witty: 'Piece by Piece: How I Built My Life (No Instructions Required).' It means 'piece by piece (also implying gradually). How I built my life (no instructions required).'
He shares his work publicly through his YouTube channel 'Hand Solo' so others can learn, and his videos are also featured on the official Lego YouTube channel. Aguila's goal is to make prosthetics more affordable. When he was 19, he made two prosthetic arms for an 8-year-old boy for just 15 euros (about 20,000 won). He rejects injustices like "having to pay 100,000 euros for a prosthetic." It is not a luxury item. He is majoring in biotechnology to help people.
Finally, Aguila said, "My book is not a story about escaping my situation with Lego, but about how I overcame bullying and the frustrating things I faced almost every day at school," adding, "Now, I feel like I am Thor with a Lego prosthetic hammer."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
