Hands
How to connect optional robot hands or end-effectors to Asimov 1.
Hands are not included in the Asimov 1 kit.
This page describes the current integration options for adding external hands or other end-effectors to the robot.
1. Power Connection
There are two current options for supplying power to the hand:
- connect hand power directly from the main battery
- connect hand power from the wrist motor port
In either case, make sure the hand is powered within its required operating voltage range. If the hand does not accept the robot supply voltage directly, use the appropriate power conversion stage before connecting it.
Important
If hand power is taken from the wrist motor port, the hand power will also be removed whenever motor power is disabled.
2. Communication Options
The communication method depends on how you want the hand to interface with the robot control stack.
Option A-1: Through the Motion Control Board
If the hand is connected through the Motion Control Board, use RS485 communication.
The Motion Control Board provides two RS485 interfaces:
R0R1
This approach is suitable when you want the hand connection to stay integrated with the robot's main internal control electronics.
Option A-2: Through the Raspberry Pi (Recommended)
The hand can also be connected directly to the Raspberry Pi for communication and control.
This is the recommended approach for early integration, testing, or hand-specific software development when the hand control path does not need to pass through the Motion Control Board.
Option B: Through a External Communication Board
If you use a separate communication board for the hand, connect that board back to the compute unit in the robot head through a suitable USB converter.
3. Recommended Hands
The following hands and grippers are reasonable starting points for Asimov 1 integration, depending on your intended use case, control requirements,
and mechanical constraints.
- Orca Hand An open-source hand platform that may be a good fit for builders who want a more modifiable integration path.
- Unitree Inspire Hand A dexterous hand option from Unitree with existing developer documentation.
- Unitree Dex3 Hand A higher-end dexterous hand option for more advanced manipulation use cases.
- Robotiq Adaptive Grippers A practical gripper option for simpler grasping tasks where full dexterous-hand capability is not required.
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