A prosthetic device created by a Girl Scout team from Ames and Gilbert―known as the “Flying Monkeys”―has earned the team the inaugural FIRST Global Innovation Award, presented by the X PRIZE Foundation.
The Flying Monkeys will receive up to $20,000 from the X PRIZE Foundation toward patenting their invention, called the BOB-1. The team submitted an idea for a multi-functional, cost-effective prosthetic hand device that would enable users with limb abnormalities to hold, grip, stabilize, or secure items. The BOB-1 prototype is currently in use by a 3-year-old child from Georgia.
In January, the team won first place in the “Innovative Solution” category at Iowa’s FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Championship, held at the College of Engineering’s Howe Hall on the Iowa State campus.
Read the full news release.
Read the Ames Tribune article and check out coverage on WHO TV, KCCI, and WOI.