Young Birmingham Muslim inventor’s journey from cardboard to cutting-edge robotics
By age 10, the now-17-year-old had progressed from cardboard constructions to computer programming, teaching himself C++ and Python
BIRMINGHAM (MNTV) – Suleymaan Khan’s path from childhood tinkerer to accomplished robotics creator began unusually early—and with unusually humble materials, according to a recent profile in UK magazine Hyphen.
Khan’s parents noticed their son was different from other children when he was just six years old.
While siblings watched cartoons, Suleymaan preferred YouTube tutorials and hands-on creation.
His mother Nimra recalled that simple materials—paper, tape, and scissors—were his preferred toys, with one of his earliest projects being a functional cardboard vending machine that dispensed Skittles when coins were inserted.
His father Yasir still keeps photographs of early inventions, including a cardboard wrist device the four-year-old designed to shoot party poppers like Spider-Man’s web shooters.
By age 10, the now-17-year-old had progressed from cardboard constructions to computer programming, teaching himself C++ and Python entirely through online videos.
“When you have a passion for something and you really enjoy it, any video you watch you’ll always learn something,” Khan told Hyphen.
Over seven years, he has created increasingly sophisticated projects, from remote-controlled paper aircraft to his current signature invention: a gesture-controlled robotic hand operated through camera recognition software he coded himself.
This device cost just £30 to build using household materials like foamboard and hot glue, yet has garnered 2.6 million TikTok views.
With over 400,000 combined likes and 20,000 followers across social platforms, Khan now serves as an informal mentor to robotics students worldwide.
He mentioned receiving help requests from Dubai university students whose own teacher couldn’t solve their robot malfunction—problems he could easily address.
His first major creation was Pepper, a humanoid butler robot built at age 12 from salvaged servomotors, Lego Mindstorm components, cardboard, and dental floss. Despite missing an arm now, Pepper could navigate spaces, carry objects, and avoid collisions through motion sensors.
This project earned Khan the 2023 Network Rail national innovation award at the Big Bang Fair, one of Britain’s premier youth science competitions.
Khan has secured a robotics company apprenticeship while continuing personal projects in his spare time. His next ambition involves creating an AI-powered humanoid robot with speech recognition and environmental mapping capabilities.
Long-term, he hopes to develop affordable prosthetics and contribute to medical advancement.
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