#1 - The Dexterous Hand Solution: Wuji Tech’s Direct Drive Innovation and Sim2Real Breakthrough

In this talk

1. 3:44

   Why Wuji chose direct drive

   Pan says he first built a hand at home in 2018, but the technology and supply chain were too immature to continue. By late 2023, he saw a gap between the growing robotics market and the few available hands, and believed Wuji’s motor expertise could fit actuators into finger joints. He argues tendon systems add complexity through forearm coupling, extra motors or springs, and wear that can loosen tendons.

2. 12:37

   Simulation, heat, and reliability

   After system identification, Pan says simulated and physical response curves align closely, which helps reinforcement learning models represent the hand’s real dynamics. He describes thermal management as work on efficiency, moving heat from fingers toward the palm or wrist, and dissipation; he cites 85°C as a possible internal limit while keeping the touchable surface near or below 45°C. He calls reliability a system-wide challenge that needs quality teams involved from design through customer feedback.

3. 21:38

   Data and models for dexterous manipulation

   Pan identifies data as a major barrier to deployment and favors lightweight gloves that let people interact directly with objects. He expects research and algorithm customers to lead in 2026, industrial use to grow from 2027, and consumer applications to follow over the next two years. He is optimistic that sufficiently large, unified models could learn dexterous tasks from abundant hand data, while Wuji focuses on hardware and data collection equipment.

4. 28:29

   Building the company and its market

   Pan says direct-drive hands require careful system-level engineering, and sees execution speed as a startup advantage. Wuji plans to provide an SDK and open-source robot-arm adaptations, while serving research customers first and expanding toward industrial and consumer markets. He says overseas demand exists, but the company must improve delivery and customer support; he also plans to invest in in-house supply-chain processes and hiring.