Dexterous hands are an important carrier for humanoid robots' "cerebellum" to achieve dexterous operations and human-machine interaction, developing towards high integration and intelligence. Dexterous hands are highly flexible and complex end effectors that play a key role in the interaction between robots and the environment. Due to their ability to mimic various dexterous grasping and complex operational capabilities of human hands, they are widely used in fields such as aerospace, medical care, and intelligent manufacturing. According to data from Statista, the global market size for robotic dexterous hands was approximately USD 1.16 billion in 2021, and it is expected to grow to USD 3.035 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 10.9% from 2022 to 2030.
Low-cost, modular dexterous hands have become a market focus in recent years
As a new type of end effector, robotic dexterous hands play a critical role in the interaction between robots and the environment. Since the 1970s, domestic and international universities and research institutions have conducted extensive research on dexterous hand end units. From three-finger dexterous hands to five-finger bionic dexterous hands, the applications span industrial and general scenarios. The skills of dexterous hands have evolved from simple grasping to more complex tasks like folding clothes and screwing bolts. Through high-precision and tactile sensing, they meet operational requirements in real-world scenarios.
Early representative products of dexterous hands
Since the 1970s, robotic hand units have transitioned from simple grippers to bionic dexterous hands to meet diverse operational requirements. Representative products from this period include the Okada dexterous hand from Japan's "Electrotechnical Laboratory," the Stanford/JPL dexterous hand from Stanford University in the U.S., and the Utah/MIT dexterous hand developed jointly by MIT and the University of Utah. Although early dexterous hands did not appear flexible, their theoretical exploration laid the foundation for research on human-like multi-finger dexterous hands, providing valuable theoretical and practical experience for the subsequent design of multi-finger dexterous hands.
By the late 20th century, robotic dexterous hands entered a phase of rapid development. With the advancement of embedded hardware, multi-finger dexterous hands started to evolve toward high integration and sensing capabilities. Typical products from this period include the DLR-I and DLR-II dexterous hands from the German Aerospace Center, which integrated 25 sensors, including tactile sensors akin to artificial skin, joint torque sensors, position sensors, and temperature sensors, thereby upgrading flexibility and sensing capabilities. However, multi-finger dexterous hands faced challenges such as high manufacturing costs, poor reliability, and expensive maintenance. Therefore, in recent years, lightweight, robust, modular, and low-cost dexterous hands have become a market focus.
Analysis of multi-finger dexterous hand design, driving, and transmission structures
In terms of product design, dexterous hand structures are mainly divided into internally-driven, externally-driven, and hybrid-driven designs. Due to technical limitations, early dexterous hands typically used externally-driven designs, resulting in large size and volume. With the development of integrated joint motors, the size of the drivers and transmission accuracy have significantly improved, and internally-driven designs have become the mainstream technological route, with dexterous hands trending toward miniaturization.
Comparison of dexterous hand driving methods (categorized by driving method)
Dexterous hands are driven mainly by electric motors, pneumatic systems, or shape-memory alloys. Electric motor-driven hands are currently the primary form, offering advantages such as high driving strength, transmission accuracy, and fast response speed. In recent years, servo motor technology for small dexterous hands has rapidly evolved, and several outstanding robotic dexterous hand companies have emerged in the market. Pneumatic-driven systems, though lower in cost, have drawbacks such as low stiffness and poor dynamic performance. Early pneumatic drives originated in Japan and can be divided into Y-shaped and flat-shaped finger grippers, with cylinder diameters of 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 32mm, and 40mm. Japanese SMC pneumatic fingers are currently widely used in industrial scenarios. Shape-memory alloy-driven systems are mostly in the experimental phase. While they offer fast driving speed, they have low durability and are unsuitable for long-term high-load use.
Classification of multi-finger dexterous hands
In terms of transmission methods, dexterous hands are categorized into tendon-driven, gear-driven, and linkage-driven types. Tendon-driven hands have a simple structure and flexible control but lack control precision and grip strength. Gear-driven hands offer high control precision but are complex and costly. Linkage-driven hands can grip large objects and have compact designs, but they face difficulties in long-distance control and offer limited gripping space.
Projected threefold growth in the next decade: The global robotic dexterous hand market is expected to exceed USD 3.035 billion by 2030
According to Statista, the global robotic dexterous hand market was approximately USD 1.16 billion in 2021. Demand for dexterous hands is strong across sectors such as industrial automation, aerospace, hazardous materials, and healthcare. Statista predicts that the market size will grow from USD 1.16 billion in 2021 to USD 3.035 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 10.9% from 2022 to 2030. At the same time, the global market volume for robotic dexterous hands is expected to increase from 507,500 units in 2021 to 1.4121 million units in 2030, with a CAGR of 11.7% from 2022 to 2030.
Market forecast for the global robotic dexterous hand market (2021-2030, in million USD)
Currently, some dexterous hand products are in the early exploratory stage, including spacecraft extravehicular missions, bionic prosthetics, remote surgery, and small component assembly on production lines.
NASA's Robonaut robot equipped with self-developed dexterous hands
In aerospace exploration, successful examples include NASA's Robonaut hand and Robonaut2 dexterous hand, and the DLR-I and DLR-II dexterous hands from the German Aerospace Center. The DEXHAND is expected to grip and operate EVA tools such as pliers, scissors, small cutters, brushes, hammers, shovels, cutters, cables (multiple), hex wrenches, and pistol-grip automatic screwdrivers (supporting their trigger-switching mechanisms).
In the medical rehabilitation field, the focus is on prosthetic needs. Current high-performance, highly flexible bionic prosthetic hands typically use pattern recognition-based control systems to achieve multi-degree-of-freedom joint motion control. Examples include Ottobock's SensorHand Speed, Bebionic and Michelangelo dexterous hands, and Open Bionics' Hero Arm.
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