Techniahqrobot | humanoid robots(@techniahqrobot):Robot hands are getting much more serious. Unitree’s Dex5-1 has 20 DoF, with 16 active joints and 4 coupled joints. It weighs 1.1 kg, reaches ±1 mm fingertip repeatability, 10 N fingertip force and runs control at 1000 Hz. The Dex5-1P version adds 94 pressure sensors across the hand. Linkerbot’s L30 uses 18 active + 4 passive DoF with tendon drive. It weighs 1.192 kg, opens and closes in 0.2 s, reaches 39 N grip force, ±0.2 mm repeatability and a listed 15 kg max load. Communication runs at 500 Hz over CAN FD. SharpaWave has 22 active DoF, 150 N grip force and up to 20 N at the fingertip. Its tactile system reaches 240×240 resolution at up to 180 fps, with ±1 mm fingertip repeatability. I keep coming back to the sensing numbers. Unitree is packing 94 pressure sensors into one hand, while Sharpa is pushing dense tactile data at 180 fps and Linkerbot is targeting a 0.2 s open-close cycle. Three very different approaches to giving humanoids better hands.

Techniahqrobot | humanoid robots@techniahqrobot

2026.09.21 12:41

Robot hands are getting much more serious. Unitree’s Dex5-1 has 20 DoF, with 16 active joints and 4 coupled joints. It weighs 1.1 kg, reaches ±1 mm fingertip repeatability, 10 N fingertip force and runs control at 1000 Hz. The Dex5-1P version adds 94 pressure sensors across the hand. Linkerbot’s L30 uses 18 active + 4 passive DoF with tendon drive. It weighs 1.192 kg, opens and closes in 0.2 s, reaches 39 N grip force, ±0.2 mm repeatability and a listed 15 kg max load. Communication runs at 500 Hz over CAN FD. SharpaWave has 22 active DoF, 150 N grip force and up to 20 N at the fingertip. Its tactile system reaches 240×240 resolution at up to 180 fps, with ±1 mm fingertip repeatability. I keep coming back to the sensing numbers. Unitree is packing 94 pressure sensors into one hand, while Sharpa is pushing dense tactile data at 180 fps and Linkerbot is targeting a 0.2 s open-close cycle. Three very different approaches to giving humanoids better hands.

Techniahqrobot | humanoid robots@techniahqrobot

2026.09.21 10:40

LinkerBot is building robot hands that can move much closer to a human hand than a standard gripper. These clips show its dexterous-hand work across small-part handling, food manipulation finger coordination and grasping objects with very different shapes. One of LinkerBot’s current research hands the Linker Hand O30, has 20 fully active degrees of freedom, with all 20 joints controlled independently. It weighs 730 g, supports a rated payload of 30 kg, and produces up to 70 N of five-finger grip force. The O30 uses direct drive, communicates at 500 Hz through CAN or CAN FD, has ±0.20 mm repeat positioning accuracy, and opens or closes in 0.8 seconds. LinkerBot also specifies 24 N at the thumb tip and up to 30 N at each of the other fingertips. The food handling caught my attention most. An avocado, dough or other irregular object forces the hand to coordinate several contact points without crushing or dropping it. LinkerBot is also developing linkage driven and tendon-driven hands alongside the direct-drive O30, giving researchers several mechanical approaches for dexterous manipulation.