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 →
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 →

Ready to Build?

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

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