Hardware Podcasts

Episode 152: Dexterous robot hands - Rich Walker

Robot Talk · 17 Apr 2026 · 35m · Episode 152

What this episode covers

Rich Walker, Director of Shadow Robot Company, discusses the evolution of dexterous robotic hands, contrasting their anthropomorphic Shadow Hand with a robust, non-anthropomorphic hand developed for Google DeepMind. He explains the engineering trade-offs between lightweight soft actuation and heavy motors, and the challenges of defining 'dexterity' in research and industrial applications. Walker also addresses the policy hurdles for robotics SMEs, arguing that robots are substrate tools rather than end-products, and critiques the current hype surrounding humanoid robots as a financing strategy rather than a technical necessity.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Shadow Robot Company, Google DeepMind, euRobotics
Products
Shadow Hand, da Vinci robot
Also
Science Museum

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