Gamer Daniel Melville from the UK was born without a right hand. He has been an ambassador and tester for Open Bionics – an artificial limb maker – for many years. The company has upgraded Melville’s previous arm based on Adam Jensen from Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to a 3D-printed bionic arm that looks just like the one Venom Snake has on the Metal Gear Solid video game series. The new component is a fully functional cybernetic limb and the ultimate Metal Gear cosplay.
Melville said:
This is unbelievable. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted from a bionic arm. I’m an avid gamer and love Metal Gear Solid so much, and to have Snake’s arm in real life is just insane.
Open Bionics teamed up with Konami – Metal Gear Solid’s publisher – to create the Venom Snake bionic arm. Previously, it teamed up with Square Enix and Razer to develop the Deus Ex arm. They even made Melville customizable faceplates to go with the Deus Ex arm so he’d really look like Adam Jensen. However, that arm was just for show as he couldn’t manipulate it or use it as a real hand. Not the new Venom Snake arm! It’s a multi-grip bionic hand.
At 29-year-old Melville, he can finally play video games with two hands. Imagine the satisfaction! It’s been a life-long dream of his come true.
Jensen Huang, the Nvidia CEO, said:
We’re living in science fiction.
Joel Gibbard and Samantha Payne founded Open Bionics six years ago to use 3D scanning and 3D printing to make accessible and affordable bionic limbs.
Their Hero Arm is the world’s most affordable multi-grip bionic arm that can be accessorized with magnetic clip-on covers. Each Hero Arm is custom-manufactured, and the clip-on is sold separately. The Venom Snake cover is available to the public, as are others. Adults down to children as young as eight can use Open Bionics’ arms.
