Unitree prices a fully driven 22-joint robot hand at $6,500

Unitree Robotics launched the Dex5-S on 21 September 2026, a five-fingered robotic hand built at the size of a human hand with 22 degrees of freedom. The starting price is about $6,500 per hand, before tax and shipping.

Every one of the 22 joints is driven and backdrivable, which means an outside force can move a powered finger joint instead of fighting it; that property is what allows compliant contact and direct force control when a hand closes on an object. Each joint also carries impact torque protection. The previous model, the Dex5-1, had 20 degrees of freedom, of which 16 were active and four passive, and offered an optional 94-point tactile array. Unitree has not said whether the Dex5-S carries touch sensing.

The hand is aimed at Unitree’s own humanoids, the G1, H1 and H2, and at the teleoperation and imitation-learning work that trains them. Grasping remains the narrowest point in humanoid manipulation, and the number of independently actuated joints a developer can buy at this price has been one of its limits. Shipping dates and regional lead times were not published with the launch.