Meet James, The Man With a Metal Gear Arm

James Young lost an arm and a leg in a rail accident in 2012. He's an avid gamer, and a fan of the Metal Gear series. After his accident, he taught himself to use a video game controller with one hand and his teeth. A couple of years after his accident, he saw an ad calling for gamers who were also amputees from the Alternative Limb Project. At this point, Konami and the gaming series was not mentioned.

Image: jamesahy.com

60 other applicants applied but James was eventually chosen and work began on the £60,000 (RM354,736.29) carbon-fibre limb that was designed and built by a team of 10 by Sophie de Oliveira Barata. It was revealed later as a part of Metal Gear publisher Konami's marketing campaign for their game Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain and the project was called The Phantom Limb project. The 3D printed hand is controlled by sensors that detect muscle movements on his back and allows him to move his fingers. Not complete dexterity, but it's getting there. Oh, there's also a tiny drone attached to the arm. Plus, LED lights, USB ports, a smartwatch, a torch, and a laser among others. There's even a slot for him to swap different 3D printed add-ons to the arm.One of which is this inspiring monument to the internet.

Reddit: James Young

And a GoPro panel with a USB slot. We finally have a human USB port.

Somebody slow me down, I've printed another accessory for my artificial limbs. An interchangeable GoPro panel w/ USB pic.twitter.com/Q0pUpf9pCW
— James Young (@jamesahyoung) May 13, 2016

BBC has made his journey into a documentary and it can be seen below in two parts. In it, you can see how people are reacting to him, the team involved in this project, and more importantly, how he sees himself after the bionic arm augmentation.

Part 1:

You can visit his website here where you can find out more and help him raise funds for surgery to improve movements in his hand. You can also read his Reddit AMA where you'll find him open and candid about his new limb.