e-NABLE, a community of volunteers who develop and distribute 3D-printed upper-limb prostheses, has been awarded a $600,000 grant from Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the Internet search engine company. The grant, directed to e-NABLE’s Enable Community Foundation (ECF), is part of the $20 million Google Impact Challenge focusing on projects related to disability.
According to an announcement from Ivan Owen, an ECF board member, the grant will allow e-NABLE to collect feedback and data from users and testers, organize global design challenges, improve its printing software, develop other tools to improve its devices and processes, and increase its ability to recruit, guide, and train volunteers.
“As a volunteer network, we’re excited to put Google.org’s generous funding to use to increase the number of devices we are able to produce for people in need around the world,” said Owen. “Because we now have unprecedented access to knowledge, to technology, and to fellow problem-solvers, we have new options for developing, sharing, and disseminating new solutions to challenging intractable problems.”
