Former Figure engineer calls tendon-based hand his biggest mistake; Atlas uses direct-drive joints
chris_j_paxton · x · 2026-08-14
Brett Adcock, former engineer at Figure, posted on X reflecting that his tendon-based hand design in 2022 was his biggest engineering mistake, calling tendons a "local maximum." Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics' Atlas uses a three-finger design with large brushless motors directly in the joints, avoiding tendon complexity. This comparison sparks discussion on robot hand design approaches.
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