A teenager who grew up without the use of his right hand says his life has been changed by his classmates—after they built him a robot hand.

Sergio Peralta, who was born without full use of his right hand, said he was worried what his classmates would think when he first started at Hendersonville High School in Tennessee, USA.

Sergio told CBS that he 'honestly felt like hiding' his hand on his first day at school and hope that 'nobody would ever find out'.

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That was until the school's engineering teacher Jeff Wilkins approached him and said his fellow students could build him a prosthetic hand.

Sergio said: "I never expected it. Like, never in a million years."

Three of Sergio's classmates used a 3D printer and online models of prostheses to design and construct the 'robotic' hand.

After being forced to grow up learning how to do everything with his left hand, Sergio was able to use his right hand for tasks he never dreamed of—like catching a basketball.

"When I caught it for the first time, everyone started freaking out. It was the first time I caught a ball with my right hand in [my] 15 years," he said.

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The school's principal, Bob Cotter, told the BBC that Sergio's new hand "is a testament to the students we have here who care about each other and the programme that Jeff Wilkins has built."

One of the students who helped on the project, Leslie Jaramillo, told a local news outlet it embodied the spirit of their engineering class.

Leslie said: "You're supposed to be engineering, coming up with new ideas, solving issues."

3D printing is making prosthetics increasingly affordable for many people with disabilities, and even giving some of them the option to make their own at home for a low cost.

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