Mark Hamill congratulates girl on Star Wars bionic arm

Last updated on: 04 March,2020 01:38 pm

The arm is custom-made in Bristol, England using technologies including 3D printing and 3D scanning.

Reuters – An 11-year-old amputee Bella Tadlock has become the first person to receive an R2-D2-style bionic arm and was also surprised with a video call from actor Mark Hamill.

R2-D2 is robot in the Star Wars film series where Hamill played Luke Skywalker. In the movies Skywalker’s character gets his own cybernetic hand after having his hand cut off with a lightsaber in "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back".

In a recording of the call released on Tuesday (March 3), Hamill tells Tadlock how happy he is that she has been able to be the first recipient of the arm. "We’re so proud of you and so happy that you were able to have this happen for you," he said.

According to manufacturer Open Bionics the "Hero Arm" is billed as the world’s first multi-grip bionic arm and works by picking up signals from muscles in the residual limb.

The arm is custom-made in Bristol, England using technologies including 3D printing and 3D scanning.