Bristol’s 16-year-old Jared Lepora is getting national attention. It took him two years but he ended up producing an amazing Robotic Hand, made entirely of Lego bricks. He built this groundbreaking project in collaboration with his dad, Nathan Lepora, who is also a professor of robotics at the University of Bristol. It’s a presentation all about the fine line between artistic imagination and true engineering ingenuity.
The robotic hand has four fingers, each with three joints, providing a wide range of movement and flexibility. It works using a mechanized system driven by two motors that use tendons to replicate real hand motions. This amazing Lego robot can learn to pick up all sorts of objects, such as bananas and mugs, showing its real-world use cases.
Jared showcasing his work at the Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2025 conference in Hangzhou, China. As a result, he achieved the honor of being the event’s youngest-ever speaker. His presentation received a great deal of attention and allowed him the opportunity to meet with some of the foremost professors in the field.
“My dad specializes in making advanced robot hands and I thought these principles were always really cool, so why not make it out of Lego?” remarked Jared, reflecting on the inspiration behind his project.
In addition to his speech, Jared collaborated with his father to co-author an academic paper detailing their findings and insights into the robotic hand’s design and functionality. Nathan expressed his aspirations for the project, stating, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if it could be a proper Lego set for other children, that would be exciting.”
The father-son duo regularly teams up to exhibit their mutual love of robotics. Furthermore, their work serves to highlight the educational promise of these tools in cultivating the next generation of engineers. Nathan believes that Jared’s creation would be a more accessible place for kids who are interested in robots and tech to play.
With their groundbreaking work, Jared and Nathan Lepora not only demonstrate the viability of using Lego for advanced engineering projects but inspire others in their community. Their narrative is proof to the power of innovation driven by curiosity and co-creation.
