Technology in full bloom

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BIONIT LABS

It’s a warm day in Italy. Salvatore De Cillis is working in the garden of his home near Lecce – he picks up the shovel, holding the plants steady. He does not take these movements for granted. Eight years ago, an accident cost him his left hand. Shortly after surgery, he met young engineer Giovanni Zappatore from Poggiardo, a small town in Salento not far from his home.

Back then, Giovanni Zappatore had only a screwdriver, a 3D printer, and a project: Adam’s Hand. “He wanted to file for a patent soon,” De Cillis remembers. He became Zappatore’s first upper-limb user to test Adam’s Hand. “Before that, I had tried many different prosthetic hands,” he says. They’d all been too complicated. Adam’s Hand, on the other hand, works with only two basic muscle signals: one for opening, one for closing.

Two signals, countless possibilities

In the small lab of the young company BionIT Labs, founded by Giovanni Zappatore, the first prototype of Adam’s Hand was created in 2018, driven by the idea of making highly complex technology as accessible and intuitive as possible. “The starting point was a simple but important observation,” says Zappatore. “People with disabilities still have to adapt to conditions not designed for their needs. We wanted to reverse that, by building a hand that adapts to the person, not the other way around.” To be more exact: Adam’s Hand seamlessly adapts to each user’s muscle tone, thanks to personalized calibrations powered by an advanced artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm developed in-house.

Users can master Adam’s Hand in just a few minutes, due to the combination of smart mechanics and integrated artificial intelligence. Adam’s Hand combines easy control with the intelligent electronics of highly complex myoelectric prosthetic hands. Depending on the thumb’s position, which can be passively moved into three different positions — and the orientation of the prosthesis in space, the dual-motor Adam’s Hand automatically adjusts its grip pattern, offering a highly intuitive user experience.

The Fully-Adaptive Grip Technology allows the Adam’s Hand to automatically adapt to the shape and size of the grasped objects. This reduces cognitive load and muscle fatigue – two of the main reasons why many conventional prostheses go unused in daily life. Users of modern hand prostheses often give them up after a short time because they are too complex, fragile, or impractical for everyday use.

In 2023, Adam’s Hand reached market readiness and was launched in its Medium version across several European countries. In 2024 it was also launched in North America.

Since then, the prosthesis has proven itself. The key to its success lies in practical details that make a difference in daily life: intuitive control, outstanding durability, and high reliability. Those who rely on a prosthesis need a device that works without constant maintenance and remains functional even when heavily used.

From the lab to the podium

Over the subsequent years, Adam’s Hand advanced steadily, ultimately standing on the podium of the Cybathlon, the international competition for users of assistive devices. For BionIT Labs, the event is a stress test, side by side with the people who actually use prostheses.

In both the 2023 and 2024 Challenges, as well as in the final round, the team reached the podium with Adam’s Hand. One of them: Salvatore De Cillis. In both years, he demonstrated the impressive everyday feats he could accomplish thanks to his Adam’s Hand. From working with hammers and screwdrivers to zipping, he secured third place in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, Philipp Barluschke took first place with the prosthesis. “We were able to prove that the prosthesis functions in real-world conditions, not just in the lab,” emphasizes engineer Zappatore.

These wins validated the team’s work and goal: developing practical, user-focused solutions that truly assist people.

Well-handled: development, precision, and reliability

In January 2025, Adam’s Hand Small was introduced: a more compact, faster, and even more durable version, ideal for younger users and women. Viviana Lucarini, one of BionIT Labs’ ambassadors, also benefits from the Small version. After losing all four limbs, she regained confidence and autonomy with two Adam’s Hand Small prostheses.

Adam’s Hand Small is 15% lighter (485g instead of 570g), performs movements 10% faster, and includes additional technical improvements for greater durability. Some of these improvements, such as increased speed, are also available as a software update for the Medium version.

The heart of the prosthesis remains its precise and durable drive technology. “Reliability is absolutely crucial for a device like Adam’s Hand,” says Zappatore. “Especially for users with bilateral hand loss, the prosthesis must function in daily life without compromise.” This is where the partnership with maxon comes into play: maxon’s highly precise, compact, and durable motors provide a powerful grip while having a low weight, and ensure reliable, low-maintenance operation. “In addition to the technical quality, we value maxon’s flexibility and willingness to collaborate,” says Zappatore. “Especially in our highly specialized field, we need a partner who addresses our specific needs and actively supports our international growth.”

Stagnation is not an option at BionIT Labs. The team is already working on further innovations: customizable controls, smart sensors, and even lighter designs. In the future, users will be able to operate their hand prostheses with even greater ease and accuracy. International expansion is also being advanced. One priority always stays in focus: close communication with the users. “Only by taking their feedback seriously can we truly improve the prosthesis,” emphasizes Zappatore.

BionIT Labs
https://bionitlabs.com

maxon
https://www.maxongroup.com

This article first appeared in driven [issue 1/2025], the customer magazine of maxon.