1924-2006 Engineer

Robert W. Mann, engineer and former rocket scientist, developed the world’s first commercially available biomechanical prosthesis by linking mind, nerve impulses and computers. In 1967, the Boston Arm was introduced. It was the first effective, reliable and easy to use prosthesis controlled by electrical impulses from the human body. Mann said about his lifelong approach to design challenges, “I’m an engineer. The way we think, a bone is a link; a joint is a bearing; a muscle is an actuator; ligaments and tissues are springs.”