👋 Hello dear getquin community,
First of all, I would like to thank you for your great support, including the many new followers. I am very pleased that my topics are so well received here and that the topic of humanoid robotics is getting so much attention. I would also like to thank everyone who has already contributed to my last posts, because your thoughts and discussions are really driving this exciting topic forward. @Multibagger
@Tenbagger2024
Today I'm focusing on a topic that Elon Musk recently described as the biggest challenge for humanoid robots: hands and gripping systems.
🔍 Focus: robot hands & gripping systems
I took a look at why hands are so complex for humanoid robots and read the research report from Nature Machine Intelligence under the microscope:
👉 Embedding high-resolution touch across robotic hands (Nature, 2025)
The study shows: Advances such as the F-TAC hand with high-resolution touch sensors are a huge step forward. But there are still 5 major challenges remain:
Tactile feedback / real "fingertip sensitivity" is often missing.
Mechanics vs. sensor integration / narrow design vs. flexible fingers.
Algorithms & data / Real-time control remains difficult.
Durability / Robot hands are often still too fragile.
Costs / Complex hands are extremely expensive.
🦾 Who is already working on this today?
Here is an overview of listed companies that play a role in the "hand problem":
⚙️ Actuators & Precision Gears
$6324 (-0,64 %)
Harmonic Drive (JP) - Precision gears, almost standard in robot hands
$6481 (-0,45 %)
THK (JP) - Linear guides & actuators
$6273 (+2,32 %)
SMC Corp. (JP) - Mini actuators, pneumatics
👁️ Sensors & touch
$6861 (-1,93 %)
Keyence (JP) - Force & vision sensors
$CGNX (-0,59 %)
Cognex (US) - industrial image processing
$STM (+0,97 %)
STMicroelectronics (FR/IT) - MEMS & pressure sensors
✋ Gripping systems & end effectors
$ABBN (-0,76 %)
ABB (CH) - Industrial robots with gripping modules
$6954 (-0,44 %)
Fanuc (JP) - Integrated grippers in robot platforms
$(Private, but important: Schunk, Festo - market leader for grippers)
🤖 End applications / developer of humanoid robots
$TSLA (-0,4 %)
Tesla (US) - Optimus with focus on functional hands
$Neura Robotics (DE,private) - Cognitive humanoid robots with hand research
Agility Robotics (US, private) - humanoid robot "Digit" with gripping ability
Here is the full humanoid robot investment report
📌 Take-Away
Without functioning hands, humanoid robots remain limited. The combination of precision mechanics, sensor technology and control is the key and this is where there are exciting investment opportunities from Harmonic Drive to Tesla.
👉 Question for you: Do you think that in the next 5 years we will see robot hands that really achieve human dexterity or will this remain a dream of the future for even longer?
Image: © riko2022 - stock.adobe.com
