Meet Tilley Lockey: Social Media Influencer. Tilley has been in the news most recently to demonstrate her brand-new bionic hands. She lost both hands as a toddler to meningitis. For the last nine years, she has been wearing prosthetic arms and hands. The technology has become increasingly innovative and adaptive. Working with Open Bionics, Tilley is modeling the newest, fully wireless bionic hands.
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Although it is creepy to watch the hand crawl across the table on its own, it is also fascinating. Tilly Lockey is 19 years old. She has been an advocate (and willing test subject) for bionic arms and hands since she was ten years old. She took some time to chronicle her prosthetic journey on her Instagram page.
This innovative technology is the brainchild of Joel Gibbard, who began tinkering with robotic hands at the age of 17. With Samantha Payne, Joel co-founded Open Bionics in 2014. They are working to usher in a new level of prosthetics inspired by science fiction. Tilly often jokes that the robots are taking over. The hand can be controlled by the user even while not attached.
The Hero Pro and Hero RGD are the culmination of four years of research and approximately $2.5 million in investment. Using the feedback from around 1,000 current Hero Arm users, Open Bionics incorporated as many upgrades as possible into this new technology. They are the only fully wireless and completely waterproof bionic prosthetics available.
Using wireless EMG electrodes (MyoPods), signals from the user’s muscles control the movement of the hand. Each unit is designed and custom-fit for the specific user. The company also offers a range of magnetic covers for the arms, enabling wearers to easily change the appearance of their arms.
Tilly Lockey’s Reaction To Her New Wireless Bionic Hands
Even though she has been using Open Bionics prosthetics for 9 years, Tilly is still testing the capabilities of this latest upgrade. Her statement on the new Hero Pro:
“I’ve been giving Open Bionics feedback non-stop the entire time and even though I knew the new tech would be good, I still wasn’t expecting to be shocked by the level of progress. The arms launched are so much stronger. I can remove my own hand and have it crawl across a table and back to me controlling it via the wireless sensors in my socket. You just can’t imagine how epic this tech is. I now have 360 rotation in my wrists, I can flex them too. There literally isn’t a single other arm that can do this. No other arm is wireless and waterproof, and it’s faster than everything else and it’s still the lightest bionic hand. It’s awesome. I’m so much stronger than I’ve ever been.”
Tilly’s full interview with This Morning is available on YouTube. It is easy to see what has impressed Tilly with this new upgrade. Her wireless bionic hands will open many doors for her.
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