• News Views Podcast Learn team about contribute republish AIhub resources AIhub events News Views Podcast Learn News Views Podcast Learn Reversible, detachable robotic hand redefines dexterity 2025 LASA/CREATE/EPFL CC BY SA. • By Celia Luterbacher With its opposable thumb, multiple joints and gripping skin, human hands are often considered to be the pinnacle of dexterity, and many robotic hands are designed in their image. • But having been shaped by the slow process of evolution, human hands are far from optimized, with the biggest drawbacks including our single, asymmetrical thumbs and attachment to arms with limited mobility. • “We can easily see the limitations of the human hand when attempting to reach objects underneath furniture or behind shelves, or performing simultaneous tasks like holding a bottle while picking up a chip can,” says Aude Billard, head of theLearning Algorithms and Systems Laboratory(LASA) in EPFL’s School of Engineering. • “Likewise, accessing objects positioned behind the hand while keeping the grip stable can be extremely challenging, requiring awkward wrist contortions or body repositioning.” A team composed of Billard, LASA researcher Xiao Gao, and Kai Junge and Josie Hughes from theComputational Robot Design and Fabrication Labdesigned a robotic hand that overcomes these challenges. • Their device, which can support up to six identical silicone-tipped fingers, fixes the problem of human asymmetry by allowing any combination of fingers to form opposing pairs in a thumb-like pinch.

Article Summaries:

  • EPFL researchers have unveiled a reversible, detachable robotic hand that can form thumb‑like pinches with any combination of its six silicone‑tipped fingers. The device’s palm and back are interchangeable, allowing the hand to detach from its arm and crawl like a spider, grasping objects beyond the arm’s reach. This “loco manipulation”-simultaneous stationary manipulation and autonomous mobility-was demonstrated in a Nature Communications paper. The hand can replicate most human grasps with five fingers and perform two‑hand tasks with more. The team sees applications in industrial, service, and exploratory robotics, as well as potential prosthetic use, where compactness and multi‑modal interaction are critical.

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