Madmen have long sought to blur the line between human and Lego, but few have gone so far as this creation by Max Shepherd. The eerily human Lego arm mimics almost the full range of motion of its organic counterpart, including finely-tuned hand motions — it can even grasp light objects using its jointed fingers, although it’s not strong enough to handle anything over a couple of pounds. As you can see from the photo, it’s also the same size as a real prosthetic arm.
Pneumatic Lego arm can lift a cup with articulated fingers
A full-size Lego arm controlled with joysticks can mimic much of the motion of its human counterpart with pneumatic parts and motors.
A full-size Lego arm controlled with joysticks can mimic much of the motion of its human counterpart with pneumatic parts and motors.
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Finger movements and up-and-down wrist movement for the arm use pneumatic Lego components; wrist turning and elbow movement work through Lego motors. The motion itself is controlled via a series of switches and joysticks, an array we’re guessing is pretty substantial given the sheer number of moving pieces involved. We have no idea how long it took to make this, but we can only hope the creator dedicates the rest of his life to producing a fully-functional Lego man. While we’re waiting on that, you can check out Shepherd’s other projects at the source link below.
Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.
