Boston Dynamics cuts Atlas robot hand to four fingers — simpler hardware, better sim

Olivier__OG · x · 2026-10-10

• Boston Dynamics gave Atlas a new hand and deliberately removed the pinky: after taping engineers' pinkies to their ring fingers for a day, the team concluded the extra dexterity wasn't worth the complexity.
• The key detail is underneath: each joint is directly actuated, making the hand easy to reproduce accurately in simulation, so Atlas can practice manipulation virtually before sim2real transfer.
• Takeaway: robotics progress is trending toward simpler hardware, better simulation, faster learning — sometimes progress is knowing what to remove.

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