The Race for the Perfect Robotic Hand
Comparison of Robotic Hands from Commercial Humanoid Platforms and Hand Manufacturers Introduction Humanoid robots are on the verge of leaving research labs and entering the real world – and their hands may be the final, crucial piece of the puzzle. By the end of 2026, several serious manufacturers plan to commercialize humanoid robots capable of useful work. A robot’s hand largely determines what jobs it can do: the human hand is incredibly versatile, with over two dozen joints and rich sensory feedback, letting us thread a needle or heft a heavy box. Replicating that dexterity and sensitivity is hard. In fact, Elon Musk has called the human-like hand “ Tesla ’s hardest problem,” noting that a human hand has about 27 degrees of freedom (independent axes of motion) and reproducing its versatility takes tremendous engineering effort. This article compares the robotic hands of leading humanoid robots expected to be in production by 2026. We’ll look at each company’s backgr...