the article
The Italian company Prensilia, founded by Marco Controzzi and Christian Cipriani, has developed a robotic much like that of our own hands. This hand dubbed 'Azzura' is one of the most advanced robotic, self contained hands currently avalible today. Each finger is driven by one motor and has two degrees of freedom. This is done by means of a screw/lead screw mechanism that changes the rotary motion of DC motors into linear motion of a slider, which pulls a tendon to flex/extend the finger. This system also allows the hand to keep its grip even if it lost power.
future implications
Currently, Azzura is ideal for prosthetics and rehabilitation research. An amputee who has lost one or both of their hands would be able to mostly restore the use of their hands. Given time, energy, and money Azzura could be able to completely restore the use of amputee's hands. Azzura could also lead to benefits to other prosthetics such as arms and legs. In the future losing part or an entire limb could be much less of a life altering event.