The bionic dexterous hand developed at Jilin University. [Photo/Jilin Release]

A bionic dexterous hand named Y-Hand M2 made its public debut at Jilin University's exhibition of achievements. Developed by a team led by Professor Ren Lei of Jilin University's Tang Aoqing Professor team, the device is based on internationally pioneering bionic tensegrity robotics theory and technology. With 38 degrees of freedom, it is currently the world's highest-degree-of-freedom bionic dexterous hand.

The underlying technology was developed by Ren after more than two decades of research into the functional principles of the human neuromusculoskeletal system and sustained engineering innovation in bionic robotics.

The Y-Hand M2 integrates bionic skeletal structures and cartilage, three-dimensional joint surfaces, artificial muscle modules, and a tendon-sheath transmission network. Its sensing and control systems combine information from encoders and force sensors with spiking neural networks, vision-tactile fusion, and proprioception to enable flexible, precise, and human-like movement.

Extensive real-world testing shows the hand outperforms traditional rigid robotic hands in five key areas: strength, speed, precision, dexterity, and compliance. It has completed all 33 categories of human-like dexterous manipulation with a 96-percent success rate, approaching human-hand performance. Many of these tasks remain beyond the capabilities of conventional rigid hands.

Mounted on a humanoid robot, the Y-Hand M2 can adaptively grasp and manipulate objects of different shapes and materials, including irregular objects, fragile items, and soft, deformable materials.

Now mass-produced and ready for delivery, the Y-Hand M2 offers a new bionic technology solution for intelligent manufacturing, aerospace, inspection and maintenance, healthcare, and elderly care. Its development also offers original theoretical and technological support for China's efforts to advance embodied-intelligence robotics.