First functional LEGO prosthetic arm with a stylus

Bioengineering student David Aguilar and his father, Ferran Aguilar (both Andorra) used LEGO pieces to construct a prosthetic arm with a built-in electronic stylus for eight-year-old Beknur Zhanibekuly (Kazakhstan), who was born with undeveloped arms. Aguilar (who himself uses a self-built LEGO prosthetic arm and goes by the nickname "Hand Solo") presented the "eMK-Beknur" to the family - now residing in France - in August 2021.

Aguilar, who himself was born without one arm owing to Poland syndrome, has been building LEGO prostheses since he was nine years old. He claimed his first record in 2017 when he created the world’s first functional LEGO® prosthetic arm. He named it the Mark-I (MK-I) in line with the naming convention of superhero Iron Man and his suits.

While David focused on the construction of the prosthetic, Ferran developed the bespoke electronic components which allow for the transfer of the user's natural electricity to the stylus tip, so that Beknur can use it to operate capacitive touchscreens (such as those found on mobile phones and tablets).

In addition to the "eMK-Beknur", David also built a second LEGO prosthetic arm in a different format: the "MK-Beknur"; featuring a grappling pincer that is operated by a cord connected to one foot, this was the first functional foot-controlled LEGO prosthetic arm.

These life-changing bionic inventions (previously Beknur had struggled to find prostheses that worked for him) came about after his mother, Zaure Bektemissova, reached out to Aguilar after seeing his story and requested his help.