The human hand is astonishing: it has 27 degrees of freedom as its joints can move in a total of 27 different ways. This is why we are capable of manipulating delicate objects with great dexterity.

But will it remain a unique human ability for much longer?

At the University of Pisa and the IIT institute, Antonio Bicchi and his team have designed a flexible robotic hand that can grasp anything. Drawing on neuroscience and studies of motor control, Bicchi and his Softhands team were able to analyse human movements and to identify which ones were vital to grabbing, holding, and manipulating.

This ERC funded research resulted in a bionic hand that can move through 19 degrees of freedom.

To learn more about this astonishing breakthrough in robotics read the original article here.

Are you sceptical about this? Check out this video and visit the ERC=Science² website for more information.