Teen scientists invent brain-controlled bionic prosthetic leg for their friend — and win prestigious $50K prize

Teen scientists invent brain-controlled bionic prosthetic leg for their friend — and win prestigious $50K prize

Teen scientists invent brain-controlled bionic prosthetic leg for their friend — and win prestigious $50K prize When Texan high schoolers Samuel Skotnikov, Changyoung Kim, and Eeshaan Prashanth found out that their friend Aiden’s prosthetic leg was uncomfortable and difficult to use, they decided to make him a better one. And what they created has gone on to both improve Aiden’s life and win them over $50,000 in scholarships. The team, made of 16- and 17-year-olds, started simple, measuring Aiden’s walking motion with his usual prosthetic leg.  From left to right: Changyoung Kim, Samuel Skotnikov, and Eeshaan Prashanth. Photo courtesy of Society for Science They noticed that the prosthetic’s stiffness required the remaining part of Aiden’s leg to work much harder than his other leg, and they wanted to ease the burden. “It started around helping our friend. He shared with us his struggle and how his current prosthetic was not really helping him out,” Skotnikov said. “That made us dive into t…