Humanoids with multi-DOF hands: 24 models from 6 to 26 DOF

The hand is the hardest part of a humanoid robot, and it decides whether the machine lifts objects or just looks good on stage. This list collects the 24 humanoids in the Robolupa catalogue whose data sheet gives at least six degrees of freedom (DOF) in the hand. The catalogue covers 101 humanoid robots, and a hand DOF figure is given for 25 of them; the only one below the threshold is HRP-5P with two DOF. The rest simply do not disclose how the hand is built, so their absence from the list proves nothing. If the term DOF is new to you, start with “Degrees of Freedom (DOF) in Humanoid Robots”.

The spread is wide: 6 to 26 DOF, with a median of 12. At the top sits Clone Alpha with 26 DOF, though it is a prototype. Three models have 22 DOF each: Tesla Optimus Gen 3, XPeng IRON and 1X NEO. Next come Agile ONE with 21 and Sanctuary AI Phoenix with 20. Six models reach at least 20 DOF in total, and here is the most interesting observation: none of them has the status "on sale" in the catalogue. They are three prototypes, one pre-order, one concept and one pilot. For now, the richest hands are a promise, not a product.

The robots you can actually buy (10 of 24) have more modest hands: 6 to 19 DOF, median 11.5. The most comes from AgiBot A2 (19), followed by Figure 03 (16), Astribot S1 (14) and two Fourier models, Fourier GR-2 and Fourier GR-3, at 12 each. At the low end are Unitree G1 EDU with 7 DOF and LimX Oli and Agibot A2 Ultra with 6. "On sale" does not mean available in Poland: only the G1 EDU has confirmed availability there, one entry out of 24. The database holds a US dollar price for 7 models, from 20,000 to 123,000 USD, and some of these are announced prices rather than price lists.

The DOF count is not a measure of dexterity. A hand with 12 well-controlled joints and touch sensors can do more than 22 degrees of freedom without feedback. The data sheets mention, for example, force sensing at 3 g resolution per fingertip on the Figure 03, tactile sensors on all fingers of the Tesla Optimus Gen 2, and pressure detection from 5 mN on the Sanctuary AI Phoenix. Read these parameters together with the DOF figure; tips on how to do that are in “How to Read a Robot Datasheet”. The figures come from the manufacturers and were not tested in our lab.

Who is this list for? Teams planning a pilot that involves handling small objects, and universities choosing a platform for grasping research. For first price and version comparisons see “Unitree H1, G1, R1 and H2” and “Figure 03: What We Know About Figure AI's Third-Generation Robot”; the wider market picture is in humanoid robots.