MM-Hand 1.0

MM-Hand 1.0 comes from the MMLab at the University of Hong Kong and was published in April 2026 as a fully open-source design. Unusually for a five-finger hand, all 21 joints are independently actuated: 21 motors stand away from the hand and pull tendons through roughly one metre of Bowden sheath, with springs providing the return stroke.

The hand itself therefore weighs only 350 g without motors while still delivering 25 N at the fingertip. Sensing is dense: 15 tactile sensors with 1 mm spatial and 0.1 N force resolution, 21 joint-angle sensors, 21 tendon-tension sensors, two palm cameras with a 140-degree field of view and LED illumination, plus feedback from the motors. The servos speak TTL or CAN, the sensors SPI and I2C.

Fingers and palm are modular 3D prints, and quick couplings make tendon changes easy. The authors do not name the motor type or the licence. The project page puts the material cost at about USD 1,400 and offers a pre-order form; a price for a finished hand is on request.

Compared with RUKA, another low-cost tendon hand, MM-Hand adds joint and tactile sensing at every finger; MIDAS Hand takes the opposite route with motors inside the hand.