Jared K Lepora from Bristol Grammar School created an an anthropomorphic robotic hand entirely from Lego, and it performs almost as well as professional research models.

The Educational SoftHand-A was built with help from his father, Dr Nathan F. Lepora of the University of Bristol, mimics the natural motion of the human hand using just off-the-shelf LEGO MINDSTORMS components.

Their open-access study, published on arXiv under a CC BY 4.0 license, demonstrates how the design can grasp, flex, and adapt to different shapes, all powered by two small Lego motors, Interesting Engineering reports.

The project is a lighthearted spin on a serious lineage of robotics research. It’s based on the Pisa/IIT SoftHand, a soft-robotics design that uses a single tendon system to synchronize finger motion.