Dexterous hands are becoming a new focus of competition in the humanoid robotics industry. Companies are working to improve robots’ hand capabilities in terms of degrees of freedom, gripping force and movement precision.
But as robots move beyond controlled laboratory environments, a new question emerges: can their hands still function properly when performing everyday tasks such as washing dishes and vegetables, or even carrying out delicate operations underwater?
To explore this question, we had the opportunity to interview the team at HeymanDex, learning how the robotics company is entering the dexterous hand market through underwater applications, as well as the technology strategy and commercialization plans behind its approach.
Unlike most dexterous hand manufacturers that focus on land-based applications, HeymanDex has taken a different approach by prioritizing protection capabilities to improve the reliability of robotic hands in challenging environments.
From deep-sea equipment to robotic hands: why go underwater?
Competition in the dexterous hand industry has largely focused on performance indicators such as degrees of freedom, fingertip force and response speed. HeymanDex, however, has chosen a differentiated path, making underwater environments a key starting point for its product development.
The choice reflects the team’s background in underwater and specialized robotics. HeymanDex’s core team has previously worked on projects involving 8,000-meter-class deep-sea landers and sampling equipment for the Jiaolong manned submersible. This experience has given the team a practical understanding of the engineering challenges involved in underwater operations, particularly water pressure, corrosion and sealing.
In the team’s view, robots must be able to operate beyond dry, flat laboratory settings if they are to become truly general-purpose machines. Everyday household tasks such as washing vegetables and dishes, industrial processes involving cutting fluids and lubricants, and deep-sea engineering operations all place demands on a robot’s ability to withstand harsh environments.
HeymanDex therefore aims to make protection capabilities a fundamental part of dexterous hands rather than an additional feature.
The core technical challenge lies in keeping dexterous hands flexible underwater
For a multi-jointed dexterous hand, waterproofing is far more complicated than simply adding a sealed outer casing. The fingers need to bend and extend continuously, while multiple internal joints and transmission mechanisms must remain flexible. Achieving reliable dynamic sealing in these moving components without compromising transmission efficiency is one of the biggest engineering challenges.
HeymanDex identifies its independently developed underwater integrated dynamic sealing technology system as a key technical advantage. The company has developed two technical solutions for different water-depth requirements.
For depths of 0 to 1,000 meters, its technology covers high-linear-speed axial dynamic sealing, high-reliability radial static sealing and magnetic-coupling dynamic sealing. For ultra-deep-sea environments ranging from 1,000 to 10,000 meters, the company has further developed technologies including hydraulic dynamic pressure compensation, oil-filled magnetic-coupling dynamic pressure balancing and dual-stage static sealing.
The company also optimizes materials, manufacturing processes and overall product design to improve corrosion resistance and long-term operating reliability.
In simple terms, conventional dexterous hands mainly focus on gripping objects more accurately and moving faster. Underwater dexterous hands must achieve the same capabilities while ensuring stable operation under sustained water pressure and other challenging environmental conditions.
WA100 moves from prototype testing to real-world applications
HeymanDex has launched its first commercial product, the WA100 underwater dexterous hand. According to company-provided data, the standard engineering configuration supports operations at depths of up to 300 meters. Customized versions can also be developed for different depth requirements, ranging from 100 meters to 10,000 meters.
The WA100 features a five-finger structure with six active degrees of freedom and 11 linked joints. It weighs no more than 1,250 grams, delivers a minimum output force of 10N per finger and supports a total pulling load of at least 5 kilograms.
According to HeymanDex, the WA100 has completed 500,000 durability test movements without damage. The company also says its dynamic sealing system has an effective service life of up to 4,000 hours, while the complete system can operate continuously for hundreds of hours without failure. HeymanDex further claims that the product achieves an 80% success rate in underwater operations and offers around five times the generalization capability of conventional two-finger grippers.
The WA100 primarily targets universities and research institutes, customers requiring specialized operations, and manufacturers of underwater robots, robotic arms and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). HeymanDex is also working with a leading domestic pool-cleaning robot manufacturer to explore applications in underwater cleaning and equipment maintenance.
The commercialization of its first product marks the company’s transition from technical development and prototype validation toward product delivery. However, improving reliability, controlling costs and expanding its customer base remain important challenges.
Expanding from underwater robotics to wider applications
HeymanDex does not intend to limit its business to underwater applications. Instead, it hopes to use underwater technology as a starting point and extend its underlying capabilities in sealing, drive systems, transmission and control to a wider range of robotic products.
The company has begun expanding into industrial manufacturing, general-purpose commercial applications, and research and education. Its Dasheng 1 industrial dexterous hand, for example, is exploring the integration of multiple configurations with industrial manipulation requirements.
Overseas markets are also part of the company’s expansion strategy. The WA100 was previously showcased at IFA in Berlin, Germany, while the Dasheng 1 industrial dexterous hand appeared at IROS in the US. The company has also begun product adaptation work with a leading German robotics company and is focusing on markets in the US, Europe and Japan.
By entering the technically demanding underwater market, HeymanDex is seeking to build a technology platform that can eventually be applied across a wider range of industries.
In the future, robots may work not only on factory production lines but also in homes, hospitals, oceans and even more extreme environments. As robots take on increasingly complex real-world tasks, simply being able to grasp an object will no longer be enough. The real challenge for the next generation of dexterous hands may be ensuring that they can perform tasks reliably and consistently across different environments.
