China wants to solve the hardest problem in robotics, making hands

Chinese start-ups are racing to develop dexterous robotic hands, a challenge industry leaders describe as the primary obstacle to creating useful humanoid robots. The push aligns with Beijing's emphasis on "embodied AI" as a driver of future economic growth amid an aging workforce. More than half of the world's factory robots are installed in China, but the International Federation of Robotics said last September that true multipurpose humanoids remain far off. LinkerBot founder Zhou Yong said making a robotic hand is "one hundred times more difficult" than making a humanoid because its dexterity is ten times that of other body parts while its volume is only one tenth. His company produces about 5,000 hands a month and aims to cut the price of prosthetic hands to $1,000. Wuji Technology founder Pan Yunzhe said he chose to base his Shenzhen company in China rather than the United States because the supply chain for components such as miniaturized motors is far more accessible. The dextrous hand industry in China surpassed 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) last year, up from 13 billion yuan in 2024, according to Chinese media. University of Bristol professor Nathan Lepora said hardware challenges are being solved but controlling the hands remains an unsolved problem. Companies are using teleoperation and sensor-filled gloves to collect the vast amounts of three-dimensional data needed to train spatial intelligence models.