Boston Dynamics unveiled new robot hands for its Atlas humanoid. The hands have 13 degrees of freedom and direct actuation. They are built for high-fidelity simulation and dexterous physical work. The design omits a pinky finger to reduce complexity and cost. The hands enable tool use, pinch grasps, and tripodal grasps. They support sim-to-real reinforcement learning for manipulation tasks. The hands maintain strength comparable to the prior 7-DOF version. Dense tactile sensors cover the fingertips and palm. The architecture prioritizes backdrivability and proprioception. The hands are optimized for mass manufacturing and reliability.
What changed
Atlas used 7-degree-of-freedom hands designed for grasping only.
What it unlocks
Dexterous manipulation, tool use, and in-hand reorientation for Atlas robots.
- 13 degrees of freedom
- 4 fingers including thumb
- 100lb+ payload capacity
What you need to act on it
- Atlas robot platform
- simulation environment for RL training
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