Hands & Manipulation
From simple grippers to 36-DoF dexterous hands with tactile feedback.
3 years ago (2023)
Standard 2-finger grippers dominated industry (Robotiq, OnRobot). Dexterous manipulation confined to research labs (Shadow Hand, Allegro Hand). Most humanoids used simple parallel-jaw grippers. Tactile sensing limited to basic pressure sensors. Grasp planning was pre-programmed and fragile.
Now (2026)
KAI boasts 36 DoF hands with 18,000 sensors (0.1N sensitivity). Figure 03 has advanced five-fingered hands in production at scale. Clone Hand is a full myomorphic hand. G1 and AgiBot A3 demonstrate in-hand manipulation. First-pass actuator yield hits 80% at scale.
Next 3 years
Sub-$40k humanoids with surgical-grade dexterity. Tactile skin with temperature, texture, and moisture discrimination. Self-healing synthetic skin. Brain-computer interfaces for neural control. Whole-body manipulation using 115+ DoF systems. Manipulation-as-a-Service via teleoperation fleets.
Related Robots
Full-sized humanoid with 115 degrees of freedom โ nearly triple rivals โ and tactile skin with 18,000 sensors detecting forces as light as 0.1N. Powered by the KAI World Model trained on 100,000+ hours of first-person egocentric video via the KAI Halo headset. Semi-solid-state 1.7kWh battery for home safety. Founded by XPeng Robotics alumni.
Human-scale robotic forearm and hand with 27 degrees of freedom, using antagonistic muscle-tendon drive and proprioceptive feedback. Part of the Clone musculoskeletal platform โ fluid-driven, no electric motors. Production cost around $2,800. Entering production as a standalone product for research and integration.
Compact humanoid robot with dexterous manipulation. Base model from $16,000. EDU developer versions (with SDK, ROS2, sim-to-real) range from $43,900 (Standard) to $73,900 (Ultimate A). Rental programs available in SF Bay Area through distributors like TOBoRLife and FUTUROBOTS (~$1,800/month).
Latest generation humanoid robot from Figure AI built on Qualcomm safety-grade SoC platforms. Comprehensive physical AI stack with improved perception, manipulation, and autonomy.