Mr Aird had his real arm removed to stop a cancer spreading to the rest of his body. Whereas many prosthetic limbs currently have some limited use of wrist or elbow, the new limb, powered by motors and gearboxes, will give Mr Aird use of his shoulder for the first time since his amputation 16 years ago. It requires high electrical power to operate as prosthetic limb at shoulder level, and it is only the development of advanced new motors in recent years that has allowed the researchers to make the step forward. Campbell Aird is keen to see how the new arm will cope with the work he does around the hotel. Already, he has expressed some concern that the project has not received more backing in Britain.
Funding is a bit tight.
The limb, which has four basic functions, will also have a degree of realism thanks to a skin-like covering with wrinkles and fingerprints.