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Shadow Dexterous Hand

Shadow Robot Company (UK) · 2005

Shadow Robot Company (UK) Shadow Dexterous Hand (1)Shadow Robot Company (UK) Shadow Dexterous Hand (2)Shadow Robot Company (UK) Shadow Dexterous Hand (3)
~$119,000 (quote)
AvailablePython from a laptop24 joints, 20 motorsTendon-drivenTactile fingertipsOpenAI Rubik's cube hand
Weeks+Shipping: Quote lead time.
Remote control: The Hand ships with an Ubuntu laptop running its ROS drivers. Python or C++ ROS nodes on that PC command joint positions and read every sensor at up to 1 kHz.
LEARN MORE (Dexterous Hand Series) ↗

Overview

The best-known anthropomorphic research hand, with the closest match to human kinematics and a six-figure price.

The Shadow Dexterous Hand is a human-sized robot hand from London's Shadow Robot Company, first sold around 2005 (unconfirmed) with air-muscle actuation. Today's electric version has 24 joints, 20 of them motor-driven. Labs use it for grasping, manipulation, teleoperation and brain-computer interface research. OpenAI used it for Dactyl, which learned in-hand cube rotation in simulation in 2018, and in 2019 for solving a Rubik's cube one-handed.

The hand is tendon-driven, meaning motors in the forearm pull cables that run to each joint. A force sensor on each tendon pair supports torque control, and zero-force mode makes joints backdrivable (pushable by hand). Shadow also sells Lite, Extra Lite and Super Lite hands with fewer fingers. Its newer three-finger DEX-EE, built with Google DeepMind, targets robust robot-learning work. Shadow offers the full hand on a Universal Robots arm as a teleoperation setup. Its price and upkeep led groups to build cheaper hands such as LEAP Hand.

At a glance
Type
Robot hand or gripper · Research & humanoid hands
Maker
Shadow Robot Company (UK)
Released
2005
Price
~$119,000 (quote)
Status
Available
Best for
Professionals & labs
Programming
Full SDK

Price and shipping

No public list price. Shadow's own December 2022 blog put the full Hand at about €110,000 including shipping, installation, training and support (about $119,000, estimate). The 2023 LEAP Hand paper calls it over $100,000. Sold by quotation from Shadow and its distributors, checked October 2026.

Shipping: Quote lead time. Sold through Shadow's sales team and distributors on quotation, with a demo offered first. The quoted price includes installation and training. Shadow Robot ↗

Specifications

CategoryRobot hands & grippers · Research & humanoid hands
Released2005
CountryUK
AvailabilityAvailable
ProgrammabilityFull SDK
Built-in autonomyNone / scripted · Moves only when controlled, or plays preset motions
LLM supportPossible via SDK · No built-in LLM. The ROS interface on the host PC lets an LLM-driven program command the Hand.
MuJoCo simulationOfficial model · In MuJoCo Menagerie (shadow_hand, E3M5 model from Shadow's own URDF). DEX-EE is in Menagerie too (shadow_dexee). MuJoCo Menagerie shadow_hand ↗
NVIDIA Isaac simulationOfficial model · Isaac Lab ships a Shadow Hand asset with in-hand cube reorientation tasks. Isaac Lab shadow_hand asset ↗
Gazebo simulationOfficial model · Shadow's ROS stack includes a Gazebo model of the Hand with the same interface as the real one. Shadow Dexterous Hand technical specification (PDF) ↗
Best forProfessionals & labs
Vision sensorsNo vision sensors
ActuatorsDC / gear motors
AudioNo audio
Compute typeLaptop / PC as the brain
Remote controlPython from a laptop
Fingers5 (4 fingers + thumb)
DOF20 actuated, 24 joints (4 coupled finger joints, plus 2 wrist joints)
Actuation20 Shadow Smart Motor units (Maxon DC motors) packed in the forearm base, pulling pairs of tendons to each joint
Grip force / payloadHolds up to 4 kg in a power grasp
Weight4.3 kg (hand and forearm)
SensorsHall-effect joint angle sensors (about 0.2°), 40 tendon force sensors, motor current and temperature, IMU, two Shadow Tactile Fingertips (17 × 3-axis taxels each) as standard, up to 5
InterfaceEtherCAT (100 Mbps) to a supplied Ubuntu laptop, 1 kHz host control loops, 5 kHz torque loops in each motor unit
SDKROS-based stack (shadow_robot_ethercat drivers, sr_common descriptions), control, visualisation and Gazebo simulation, open source under GPL/BSD

Common questions

How much does Shadow Dexterous Hand cost?

Shadow Dexterous Hand is listed at ~$119,000 (quote). No public list price. Shadow's own December 2022 blog put the full Hand at about €110,000 including shipping, installation, training and support (about $119,000, estimate). The 2023 LEAP Hand paper calls it over $100,000. Sold by quotation from Shadow and its distributors, checked October 2026.

Can Shadow Dexterous Hand be bought today?

Yes, it is on sale. Sold through Shadow's sales team and distributors on quotation, with a demo offered first. The quoted price includes installation and training.

Who makes Shadow Dexterous Hand?

Shadow Dexterous Hand is made by Shadow Robot Company (UK). It came out in 2005.

Can Shadow Dexterous Hand be programmed?

Full SDK. ROS-based stack (shadow_robot_ethercat drivers, sr_common descriptions), control, visualisation and Gazebo simulation, open source under GPL/BSD.

Does Shadow Dexterous Hand have AI chat or LLM support?

Possible via SDK. No built-in LLM. The ROS interface on the host PC lets an LLM-driven program command the Hand.

Ratings & reviews

Similar robots

Allegro Hand (V4 / V5 / V6)Wonik Robotics (South Korea)$9,910 (V4)PSYONIC Ability HandPSYONICQuote onlyLEAP HandCarnegie Mellon University (Deepak Pathak's lab), open sourceUnder $2,000 DIY parts, Lite ~$715Inspire Robots RH56 (RH56DFX)Beijing Inspire-Robots Technology$5,783WUJI Hand 2WUJI Tech (Shenzhen Wuji Technology)$14,600Xiaomi 21-DoF Bionic HandXiaomi (Xiaomi Robotics team)Not for sale

Sources

Technical specification (PDF, September 2025) ↗ · DEX-EE ↗ · GitHub (shadow-robot) ↗ · Solving Rubik's Cube with a Robot Hand (OpenAI, 2019) ↗ · How much does a robot hand cost? (Shadow blog) ↗

Image credits