Innovators to Gather in Israel to Use 3D Printers to Help The Disabled

Next Sunday,  innovators will converge on Nazareth, Israel to compete in the Tikkun Olam Make-a-thon. The Tikkun Olam Make-a-thon is a marathon of sorts during which teams of people will use 3D-printing and other digital technologies to create working, open-source prototypes of tools over the course of 72-hours (June 29-July 1).

The name of the event “Tikkun Olam,” means “repair the world” in Hebrew, that’s why the tools the participants make will help disabled people around the world.From a pool of more than 200 applicants around the world, just 70 people  from Israel, the U.S., Argentina, Chile, India and Singapore were selected to participate in the make-a-thon teams.

The teams will be comprised of engineers, occupational therapists, designers, artists and individuals with other relevant skill sets. Participants will compete against each other by taking part in a series of “challenges.” Each challenge will be to find a solution to an issue that people with a disability faces.

The Challenges Include:

• Customizable Keyboard – A keyboard that can be adjusted to different needs of the user.
• Walking the dog – A solution that allows people in wheelchairs to walk their dogs.
• Prosthetic Arm – A prosthetic arm that will allow children born without hands to hold a ball.
• Eye Control – A device that allows users to control a robotic arm with “eye writer” glasses.
• Crutches – Crutches that can be used to carry personal items.
• Rhythm –A tool that teaches rhythm and coordination to people with mental or cognitive disabilities.
• Pressure relief while sitting – A method for relieving pressure caused by prolonged sitting in a wheelchair.
• Clean Wheelchair Wheels – A device that helps people clean wheelchair wheels.
• Brain Control – A brain signal controlled device that controls a robotic hand.
• Potty Pod – An instrument that allows paralyzed children to rest while relieving themselves.
• Alyn Ride to School – A way of enabling children in wheelchairs to give a ride to school for an able bodied sibling or friend.

The founders of TOM want the products the participants make to be a starting point for future innovation.

“A TOM-produced design to help a quadriplegic more easily sip from a straw could then be improved upon by innovators in San Francisco, New Delhi or Lima,” said Arnon Zamir, TOM Co-founder. “Disabilities transcend borders, and so do solutions.”

The Tikkun Olam Make-a-thon is taking place through a partnership of the Schusterman Philanthropic Network’s Connection Points and the Reut Institute’s Cross Lab Network (XLN), an organization that wants Israel to be at the frontier of the 3D printing and manufacturing revolution.  Let us know if you plan on taking part in the Tikkun Olam Make-a-thon, at the TOM forum thread on 3DPB.com.