Scientists have developed an ultra-light limb that they claim can mimic the movement in a real hand better than any currently available.

The Southampton Remedi-Hand can be connected to muscles in the arm via a small processing unit and is controlled by small contractions of the muscles which move the wrist. It uses six sets of motors and gears so each of the five fingers can move independently.

The next stage will be to integrate the latest sensor technology to create a “clever” hand that can sense how strongly it is gripping an object, or whether an object is slipping.