After the brain perhaps the most highly evolved and sophisticated pieces of human "equipment" is the hand. Its dexterity and range of movent is unequaled in the animal kingdom, further securing humanity's status as a unique creature.

Enter the Shadow Hand from the UK's Shadow Robotics. Controlled by a stock PC chip running Linux, the Shadow Hand's joints possess an amazing range of movement. Each finger moves in four different directions, while the thumb has five -- for that all-important opposition across the palm.

A group of Shadow Robotics' air muscles manipulate the tendons controlling the fingers. But don't worry about it overpowering a human using one as a prosthetic -- air muscles have limited strength, and the hand's speed is only about 1/2 that of a real one.