TOKYO - Honda Motor Co. has developed a robotic hand capable of highly dexterous movements, marking a return to robotics with a new industrial focus after retiring its once-iconic ASIMO humanoid robot.
The company plans to commercialize the multi-fingered hand in the early 2030s for use in manufacturing, aiming to help automate factory work as labor shortages intensify.
Unlike conventional industrial robots designed for repetitive tasks, Honda's latest system combines fine motor control with strength, allowing a single robot to perform a range of assembly work.
The robot can grasp a screw measuring just 1.6 millimeters in diameter between its thumb and index finger, rotate it and insert it into a screw hole. It can also lift objects weighing up to 5 kilograms using its fingertips.
"We've achieved a remarkable level of smoothness, even in very delicate movements," said Takahide Yoshiike, executive chief engineer at Honda R&D Co.
Equipped with tactile sensors that detect the shape of objects, the robotic hand uses four fingers -- it does not have a little finger -- to manipulate components and orient them correctly before assembly. It is also designed to carry out more complicated work such as assembling connectors.
Honda plans to begin full-scale field testing at its Yorii factory in Saitama Prefecture, where the robot will sort large volumes of parts supplied by subcontractors.
The company hopes the technology will enable a single robot to perform multiple tasks, helping manufacturers automate production lines that are increasingly affected by labor shortages.
Honda said one of the key advances is a newly developed drive system for the fingers. Conventional robotic fingers are typically powered by motors and wires, creating durability challenges.
The new mechanism, for which Honda has filed a patent application, "bends like a willow, while still delivering force efficiently," Yoshiike said.
The project represents a new chapter in Honda's robotics program following the retirement of ASIMO, which debuted in 2000 and became one of Japan's best-known humanoid robots.
Although ASIMO showcased advanced walking and interaction capabilities, Honda could not eliminate concerns that the robot might knock over people nearby in unexpected situations, such as if a child suddenly hugged it. As a result, the company found it difficult to envision further business expansion, and ASIMO was retired in 2022.
Around 2019, Honda shifted its robotics research toward developing robotic fingers, continuing the work largely out of the public eye.
The team did so amid intensifying global competition, with Chinese companies making gains in robotics, while also facing criticism over the apparent lack of progress in Honda's robotics program.
"People kept asking, 'What happened to Honda's robots?'" Yoshiike said.
Rather than trying to imitate existing technology, Honda focused on developing something original.
"Creating new value meant taking on challenges without knowing exactly how we'd solve them," Yoshiike said. "It was difficult, but we kept at it."
The multi-fingered hand, the result of those efforts, was unveiled at a robotics exhibition in Tokyo in late May and has already attracted multiple business inquiries, according to the company.
Honda also plans to launch a joint research project with RIKEN during fiscal 2026 to accelerate development of what it calls "Physical AI," a technology that would allow robots to autonomously learn tasks.
"Our immediate goal is to bring the best solution we can to the market using the technology we have today," Yoshiike said.
