Shadow Dexterous Hand Overview
The Shadow Dexterous Hand is a five-finger robot hand with 24 joints and 20 actuated degrees of freedom, driven by 20 motors through tendons, with more than 100 sensors and a weight of 4.3 kg.
Key Specifications
Specification | Shadow Dexterous Hand |
Manufacturer | Shadow Robot Company |
Model | Shadow Dexterous Hand |
Category | End effector / Dexterous robot hand |
Fingers | Dexterous Hand: 4 and thumb; Lite: 3 and thumb; Extra Lite: 2 and thumb; Super Lite: 1 and thumb |
Degrees of freedom | Dexterous Hand: 20 actuated; Lite: 13; Extra Lite: 10; Super Lite: 7 |
Joints | Dexterous Hand: 24; Lite: 16; Extra Lite: 12; Super Lite: 8 |
Motors | Dexterous Hand: 20; Lite: 13; Extra Lite: 10; Super Lite: 7 |
Wrist joints | Dexterous Hand: 2; Lite: 0; Extra Lite: 0; Super Lite: 0 |
Tendon load sensors | Dexterous Hand: 40; Lite: 26; Extra Lite: 20; Super Lite: 14 |
Tactile fingertips, standard / maximum | Dexterous Hand: 2 / 5; Lite: 2 / 4; Extra Lite: 1 / 3; Super Lite: 1 / 2 |
Weight | Dexterous Hand: 4.3 kg; Lite: 2.4 kg; Extra Lite: 2.1 kg; Super Lite: 1.8 kg |
Price | Price on request |
Price available on request. Any price is indicative, not final and may change.
Applications
Manipulation Research
Teleoperation
Handling Human Tools
Shadow Dexterous Hand Review Summary
The Shadow Hand has been the reference hand for dexterous manipulation research for many years. Twenty motors in the forearm pull tendons to drive 20 degrees of freedom, with four further coupled movements, for 24 joints in all, including two in the wrist. More than 100 sensors, among them 40 tendon load sensors, report at up to 1 kHz over EtherCAT, and the whole system is integrated in ROS. The price of this is weight, 4.3 kg, and complexity. For simpler needs Shadow offers Lite versions down to a thumb and one finger.
Pros
24 joints, close to the human hand
More than 100 sensors
1 kHz control
Full ROS integration
Lite versions for simpler tasks
Cons
4.3 kg
Complex tendon mechanism
Who It Is For
It fits research laboratories and teleoperation developers who need the closest available match to a human hand.
Full review: Shadow Dexterous Hand Review: Specs and Uses of the 24-Joint Robot Hand
