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The future of thumbs

An emerging area of future technology is motor augmentation, using motorised wearable devices such as exoskeletons or extra robotic body parts to advance our motor capabilities beyond current biological limitations.

Such devices could improve the quality of life for healthy individuals who want to enhance their productivity, the same technologies can also provide people with disabilities new ways to interact with their environment.

A team of scientists participated at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition to develop something called The Third Thumb, a 3D-printed robotic thumb controlled by a user's toes.

Dani Clode and Lucy Dowdall from the University of Cambridge explain more to Chris Mann.

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5 minutes