RUKA-v2

About

About RUKA-v2

RUKA-v2 is an open-source tendon-driven hand with 16 finger and thumb degrees of freedom and a two-axis parallel wrist. Finger abduction and adduction change the spacing between digits, while the wrist provides independent flexion, extension and radial or ulnar movement.

Actuators sit in the forearm to reduce distal mass, and major structures are 3D printed from published designs. The project includes CAD, assembly instructions, controller software and simulation assets. Researchers demonstrated single- and dual-arm teleoperation across writing, grasping, wiping and object-manipulation tasks.

Capabilities

Source-backed capabilities

  • Capability areas: Robotic grasping, Dexterous manipulation
  • Workflows: End-effector manipulation
  • Operating environments: Robot-learning labs, teleoperation research and humanoid manipulation research
  • Target markets: Researchers who care about reproducible hand design and human-demonstration transfer.
  • Deployment model: Research project hand for open robotics manipulation experiments rather than a mass-market commercial product.
  • Dexterous manipulation

    Research demonstration - 2026-03-27 - NYU researchers report RUKA-v2 across 13 single-arm and bimanual teleoperation tasks and three autonomous manipulation policies, with measured completion-time and success-rate gains over RUKA.

    Source
  • Robotic grasping

    Research demonstration - 2026-03-27 - NYU researchers report RUKA-v2 across 13 single-arm and bimanual teleoperation tasks and three autonomous manipulation policies, with measured completion-time and success-rate gains over RUKA.

    Source
  • Bimanual manipulation

    Research demonstration - 2026-03-27 - NYU researchers report RUKA-v2 across 13 single-arm and bimanual teleoperation tasks and three autonomous manipulation policies, with measured completion-time and success-rate gains over RUKA.

    Source
  • Pick and place

    Research demonstration - 2026-03-27 - NYU researchers report RUKA-v2 across 13 single-arm and bimanual teleoperation tasks and three autonomous manipulation policies, with measured completion-time and success-rate gains over RUKA.

    Source
  • Precision insertion

    Research demonstration - 2026-03-27 - NYU researchers report RUKA-v2 across 13 single-arm and bimanual teleoperation tasks and three autonomous manipulation policies, with measured completion-time and success-rate gains over RUKA.

    Source
  • Remote and shared control

    Research demonstration - 2026-03-27 - NYU researchers report RUKA-v2 across 13 single-arm and bimanual teleoperation tasks and three autonomous manipulation policies, with measured completion-time and success-rate gains over RUKA.

    Source

Timeline

  • NYU releases RUKA-v2 open-source dexterous hand

    2026-03-27 - Research Publication - NYU researchers released RUKA-v2, an open-source tendon-driven humanoid hand with wrist mobility and finger abduction-adduction for robot-learning research. The arXiv version was first posted on 27 March 2026. The release includes open hardware, controller software, CAD and assembly documentation.

    Source

Context

Market context

Open-source tendon-driven hand with wrist and finger abduction/adduction for robot learning.

  • Target environment: Robot-learning labs, teleoperation research and humanoid manipulation research
  • Workflow context: Open hardware dexterous manipulation with wrist motion and richer human-like hand kinematics
  • Customer context: Researchers who care about reproducible hand design and human-demonstration transfer.
  • Deployment model: Research project hand for open robotics manipulation experiments rather than a mass-market commercial product.
  • Commercial maturity: Open-source research platform page.
  • Adoption constraints: Research hand; build, durability and support depend on local fabrication and project resources.
  • Adjacent products: LEAP Hand, Aero Hand Open, Amazing Hand, ORCA Hand

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