Xynova Flex 2 Is a Dexterous Robotic Hand Built to Match Human Grip
Xynova Flex 2 is a dexterous robotic hand that moves and grips almost exactly like a human hand, built for humanoid robots.
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Xynova Flex 2 Is a Dexterous Robotic Hand Built to Match Human Grip
Getting a humanoid robot to walk convincingly
has turned out to be far easier than getting it to actually pick something up
the way a person would. Xynova builds Flex 2 specifically to close that gap: a
dexterous robotic hand the company sells as a ready-made part to robot
manufacturers, rather than building complete robots itself, the same way a car
company might buy its engines from a specialist supplier instead of making them
from scratch. Xynova states it released the world's first fully self-developed,
mass-produced version of this kind of hand, one that moves using artificial
tendons pulling on the fingers, much like real tendons move human fingers.
Moving Almost Like a Real Hand
A human hand can bend, twist, and rotate its
joints in many different independent ways at once, and each one of those
independent movements is called a "degree of freedom." Flex 2 has 23
of them, weighs only 400 grams, roughly as light as a smartphone, and can open
from a full grip to a flat hand and back again twice every second. Xynova also
tested the hand against something called the Kapandji Thumb Opposition Test, a
standard measurement doctors and hand specialists use to check how far a thumb
can stretch across the palm to touch each fingertip, the exact movement a
person uses to pick up a coin or turn a key. Flex 2 scored perfectly on it,
meaning it can bend and adapt its grip to fit oddly shaped objects rather than
only closing in one fixed way.
Steady and Sensitive Enough to Feel What It's Touching
Xynova states the hand can return to the exact
same position over and over within one-tenth of a millimeter, a distance
smaller than the thickness of a human hair. That level of consistency means the
hand can be trusted to repeat a delicate motion, like picking up a small screw,
the same way every single time without drifting off target. The hand can also
be pushed backward by outside force rather than only pushing forward on its
own, a property Xynova uses to let the hand switch between controlling exactly
where it moves and controlling exactly how hard it presses. That grip-strength
sensing is precise down to about the weight of two paperclips, letting the hand
tell the difference between barely touching something and squeezing it firmly.
Sensing What It Grips, and Learning as It Goes
Xynova describes Flex 2 as combining several
different types of built-in sensors with what it calls a human-like
"cerebellum," the part of the brain that fine-tunes movement and
balance without a person consciously thinking about it. In the hand, this lets
it automatically adjust its grip if an object starts slipping, and respond
gently rather than rigidly when it bumps into something unexpected. The company
also built the hand on an open system that other companies can customize and
build on, rather than a sealed part nobody else can modify. On raw strength,
Xynova states the hand can grip and hold up to 12 kilograms, about the weight
of a car tire, and can keep gripping 4 kilograms continuously without strain,
helped by a palm surface built to resist wear and puncture.
Built to Survive Millions of Grips
Xynova built Flex 2's overall size, joint
placement, and movement pattern to closely match a real human hand, then
covered it in a soft, replaceable outer skin with seams specifically shaped to
avoid pinching skin or fingers, a safety detail that matters for a robot hand
meant to work near people. On durability, the company states the hand is built
to survive millions of open-and-close cycles, along with resistance to dust,
drops, and impacts. Internal cables that mimic tendons are reinforced against
gradually stretching out of shape over time, and the hand is built to keep
working steadily across a wide range of temperatures, whether it's running the
same repetitive task on a factory line or operating somewhere far less
controlled.
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