A London-based robotics engineer has revealed how her ADHD has driven her to create innovative tech accessories, including nail extensions that can link to a credit card. Eneni Bambara-Abban, 32, a creative technologist, said her condition helped her conceive ideas like acrylic nails embedded with near-field communication (NFC) chips, which could hypothetically be used for payments.
Bambara-Abban's passion for engineering began at age five, sparked by a walking doll. She later dismantled household gadgets to understand their mechanics. Despite top GCSE science grades, she was initially denied entry to a robotics degree at the University of the West of England. After writing to the dean, she secured a place on a foundation course in 2012, progressing to the degree the following year.
As the only black woman on her course, she felt isolated and nearly quit, but was inspired by women she met at an engineering awards ceremony. She then explored wearable tech, designing circuit boards for nails that could link to webpages. She also founded The Techover Foundation and developed smart clothing that integrates with weather forecasts.
Bambara-Abban told PA Real Life: 'I always thought, why is tech so boring, so dry, why can't it be fun? Having undiagnosed ADHD, I was always forgetting things, so I thought, what if I had a chip inside me for my credit card that I would never lose?' She combined nail extensions with circuits, sending designs to a factory in China for miniaturisation at a cost of 30p per piece.
