Sixteen-year-old Jared Lepora from Bristol has captured attention with his innovative creation: a fully functional robotic hand made from Lego. It took Lepora two years to produce this project. He had plenty of support—especially, valuable guidance—from his father, Nathan Lepora, a robotics professor at the University of Bristol. Working in concert, they’ve created a dexterous device that’s capable of picking up all manner of objects—from bananas to coffee mugs.
The robotic hand has four fingers, and each finger has three joints. Its two motors, which are powered by tendons, allow it to perform a wide array of movements. This effect creates an ergonomic design where the hand can replicate natural motions and effectively grasp varied objects. Jared Lepora’s creativity is indicative of his technical talent, but it reveals his desire to motivate his peers to become inventors too.
Join us in congratulating Jared on this incredible honor! He even became the youngest keynote speaker of the Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) 2025 conference in Hangzhou, China. His eye-opening presentation gave us a glimpse into his work with the bionic hand. Throughout the course of this project, he worked with some of the top professors in the growing field of robotics.
“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?” said Jared Lepora. While his choice to use Lego did a great job of making the project accessible, it provided a creative idea for further development.
Nathan Lepora expressed his enthusiasm for Jared’s project. He told me, `Wouldn’t it be awesome if it could go on to be an actual Lego set that other kids could get? That would be really exciting! Their cooperative work resulted in an exceptional scholarly article. It provided an in-depth look at the design and functionality of the robotic hand, providing an important contribution to engineering and technology.
After keynoteing IROS 2025, Jared Lepora couldn’t wait to kick back and hang out with the world’s top robotics professionals. This type of interaction has the potential to open up new and exciting opportunities. The young inventor even managed to marry impish youth to earnest professionalism in his school blazer as he sat beside his Lego creation.
