of so many people. When BobCAD-CAM, Inc. created the Manufacturers of the Future program, they had hopes that the program would one day help people just like Easton bring their innovations to life.

Easton’s first robotic hand creation opened many doors for him. Before he was able to create it, he needed to research and learn a lot about the various technologies that go into producing robotics. He studied electronics, sensors, motors, wireless radios, and CAD modeling among other sciences. Online resources like the “Maker” type sites and Instructables.com provided helpful resources for aspects of his project but there were no tutorials for what he was hoping to create. He had to learn much of it on his own and piece it all together.

Once he had completed his firstrobotic hand, he open sourced his work as a way to give back to all of the various communities that helped him get to that point. This is when he first noticed the impact his work was having. Schools all over the world began sending him videos of their projects they were able to create based of his work.

As Easton continued to refine his work, he began working with 3D printing. Having a limited budget, 3D printing offered him a practical way to implement his project. At 14, he designed a 3D model hand in a CAD design system and had it 3D printed through Makerbot.

At this point, he began entering his robotic hand design into science fairs where he quickly gained recognition for his innovative project. Beyond