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From changing a light bulb to cooking dinner, there are numerous times where an extra pair of hands would come in useful.

And now roboticists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have created robotic arms that can lift heavy objects and reach things that your own cannot.

The arms may resemble those of Spider Man villain Otto Octavius, or Dr Octopus, but unlike the comic book creations, they are not fused to a person's body and cannot be controlled by the mind.

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Those look handy! Robotcists at MIT have created a robotic arms that can lift heavy objects and reach objects that your own cannot. Here, the arms mimic the wearer's actions

The extra limbs weigh around 10lbs (9kg) so they can be strapped onto the shoulders or hips, but can still lift heavy objects like a human's. There were built at MIT's d'Arbeloff Laboratory.

While they may not use mind control, they can learn from the way a person's body moves, Gizmodo reported.

They are shown to mimic a person's movements in a video demonstration, but could one day have a mind of their own so they could come to a wearer's aid if they needed an extra hand.

Arms for evil! MIT's robotic arms may resemble those of Spider Man villain Otto Octavius, or Dr Octopus (pictured) but unlike the comic book creations, they are not fused to a person's body and cannot be controlled by the mind

Accessory of the future? The extra limbs (illustrated) weigh around 10lbs so they can be strapped onto the shoulders or hips, but can still lift heavy objects like a human's

Currently the prototype arms could be used to open a door, leaving a wearer's hands free to carry shopping bags, for example, but in the future they could open the door for the struggling wearer in advance.

It is thought that the arms could eventually learn routines, such as opening doors or helping handymen hold tools or panels while they compete a delicate task.

'The extra limbs will help them hold objects, support the human body, share a workload and streamline the execution of a task,' the experts said.

'If the movements of such supernumerary limbs are tightly coupled and coordinated with their arms, the human users may come to perceive the extra limbs as an extension of their own body.

Helping hands: At the moment, the prototype arms could be used to open a door, leaving a human wearer's hands free to carry shopping bags, for example, but in the future they could open the door for the struggling wearer in advance (illustrated)

The future? The arms could eventually learn routines, such as opening doors for shoppers, acting as stabilisers (pictured left) or helping handymen perform tasks (pictured right) such as opening and holding panels or tools so the dexterous human can do their job more effectively

'The overarching goal of this project is to study a new type of co-robots that is perceived to be an extension of the human body, working closely with the wearer.'

The arms are different to others developed, such as the University of Pennsylvania's Titan arm, as they can move independently of a human's.

The Titan arm could help its wearer carry an additional 40 pounds (18 kg) which is around the weight of a four-year-old child and make it feel easy as lifting a cup of tea. But it cannot deviate from a human's own arm to anticipate their actions.

MIT's arms stop short of being a full exoskeleton, which can give humans super-human strength, but they could probably be used in the nearer future and be cheaper than full body suits.

Natural? 'The overarching goal of this project is to study a new type of co-robots that is perceived to be an extension of the human body, working closely with the wearer,' the arms' creators said. They are used as a stabilising device in this illustration

 

Powered exoskeleton arm helps patients achieve mobility

In tune: They are shown to mimic a person's movements in a video demonstration (pictured), but could one day have a mind of their own so they could come to a wearer's aid if they needed a hand...or two