Open-Source Dexterous Hand

Orca Hand

A fully open-source 17-DOF dexterous hand — 5 fingers driven by 17 Feetech STS3215 servos over a single 3 Mbps USB serial bus. No ROS required: the orca_core Python SDK connects, calibrates, and commands all joints in under 10 lines of code. MIT-licensed with MuJoCo MJCF models for bimanual sim.

Start Setup → Research Guide →
17
Degrees of Freedom
5
Fingers
3 Mbps
Serial Bus Speed
MIT
Open-Source License
Getting Started

Your Setup Journey

Follow these steps to go from unboxing to your first dexterous grasp. Takes about 3–4 hours total.

1

Assembly & Inspection

Assemble finger modules, route tendons, mount to wrist plate

~90 min
2

Software Install

Install ROS2, flash firmware, configure orca_core package

~45 min
3

Calibration

Set finger zero positions, adjust tendon tension per finger

~30 min
4

First Grasp Test

Open and close each finger individually, verify tracking

~20 min
5

Data Collection

Connect to OpenArm or compatible arm, run teleoperation, record episodes

Ongoing
Open Full Setup Guide →
Technical Overview

Hardware at a Glance

Total DOF 17 — fingers, abduction axes, wrist
Fingers 5 — thumb (4 DOF), index/middle/ring/pinky (3 DOF each)
Actuators Feetech STS3215 serial bus servos ×17 at 3 Mbps
Thumb ROM Abduction ±65°, MCP ±45°, PIP −20°…+140°, DIP −20°…+120°
Wrist ROM ±60° flex / extend
Control mode current_based_position (default); current, velocity, position also supported
SDK orca_core — Python 3.9+, via Poetry or pip (no ROS required)
Simulation MuJoCo MJCF (orcahand_description) — left, right, bimanual scene
Connection USB serial — /dev/ttyUSB0 (Linux) or /dev/tty.usbserial-* (macOS)
Mount Standard robot arm flange (ISO 9283 compatible)
License MIT — orcahand.com
Full Specs →
Head-to-Head

Dexterous Hand Comparison

Feature Orca Hand Shadow Hand Allegro Hand Leap Hand
DOF17241616
Fingers5544
ActuatorsFeetech STS3215 (serial bus)Air muscles / electricBrushless DCDynamixel XL330
Open SourceFull (MIT)NoNoFull (MIT)
SimulationMuJoCo MJCFMuJoCo / IsaacIsaac SimURDF / Isaac
Bus Speed3 Mbps USBEtherCATCAN / EtherCATUSB Serial
Approx. Price~$2K BOM (DIY)$100K+$15K+~$2K (DIY)
Compare All Hardware →
Software Integration

Python SDK & ROS2

Control the Orca Hand in under 10 lines. No ROS required for basic operation.

Python SDK — Joint Control

# pip install orca-core from orca_core import OrcaHand hand = OrcaHand("/dev/ttyUSB0") hand.connect() # Read all 17 joint positions positions = hand.get_positions() # Command a power grasp hand.set_positions({ "thumb_mcp": 0.8, "thumb_pip": 0.6, "index_mcp": 0.9, "middle_mcp": 0.9, "ring_mcp": 0.9, "pinky_mcp": 0.9 })

ROS2 Integration (Humble / Iron)

# Clone and build ROS2 wrapper cd ~/ros2_ws/src git clone https://github.com/orcahand/orca_ros2.git cd ~/ros2_ws && colcon build # Launch — publishes /orca/joint_states (17 joints) ros2 launch orca_ros2 driver.launch.py port:=/dev/ttyUSB0
Data Collection

Teleoperation Data Collection

Record dexterous manipulation demonstrations using the Orca Hand mounted on a robot arm.

1. Mount & Calibrate

Attach Orca Hand to OpenArm 101 or compatible arm via ISO 9283 flange. Run orca_core calibration to set zero positions and tendon tension.

2. Record Episodes

Use a glove controller or leader-follower arm to teleoperate. The Fearless Platform records 17 hand joints + arm joints + camera at 30 Hz per episode.

3. Train Policies

Export episodes as JSONL. Compatible with ACT, Diffusion Policy, and custom pipelines. MuJoCo MJCF models enable sim-to-real transfer.

SVRC Services

Services for Orca Hand

Data Collection Service

SVRC operators collect dexterous manipulation demonstrations at our labs. You receive cleaned JSONL episodes.

Hardware Leasing

Lease pre-assembled Orca Hand units monthly. Includes calibration, tendon spares, and support.

Repair & Assembly

Tendon replacement, servo swap, and full assembly service. Turnaround: 5 business days.
Related Hardware

Also Consider

LinkerBot O6 — 12-DOF with included glove teleop → Wuji Hand — 20-DOF with 768-point tactile map → BrainCo Revo II — Bionic hand with BLE + EMG → Paxini GEN3 — Add 6-axis tactile to Orca fingertips → OpenArm 101 — Primary arm for Orca Hand mounting →
Learn More

Related Guides

Dexterous Hands Buying Guide → Teleoperation Setup Guide → Data Collection Best Practices →
Deep Dives

Research & Guides

SVRC-curated content covering the full Orca Hand stack — from assembly to policy learning.

Open-Source Dexterous Hand Guide → Assembly & Setup Guide → Full Specifications → Official Orca Hand Docs → orca_core GitHub Repository → Community & FAQ →
Get Help & Share

Community

Have a question or want to share your build?

Orca Hand Forum → GitHub → Community & FAQ →

Pricing & Availability

Purchase & Lease
Custom Quote
Request Quote

Open-source design files are free. Contact us for pre-assembled units, custom builds, or bulk component kits.

Need a pre-built unit or component sourcing help? Talk to our team.

Ready to Build?

Open-source design files, docs, and controller code — everything you need to get started.

Start Setup Guide Research Guide Contact Us