Inspire Dexterous Right Hand With Tactile Sensors (RH56F1-E2R-T1)

Robotic hands usually make you choose. Build them stiff enough to survive months of collisions in a busy laboratory, and they tend to lose their sense of touch. Make them sensitive, and they become fragile. The Inspire Dexterous Right Hand With Tactile Sensors (RH56F1-E2R-T1) avoids that trade-off. An all-metal body rated for a 30 kg static passive load is paired with eight palm tactile sensors and a force resolution of 0.1 N. A controller can therefore tell a secure grasp from a crushing one, on the hundredth trial as reliably as on the first. For groups whose results depend on repeatable manipulation, that combination of robustness and feel is the reason to look closely.

Robots Europa supplies this hand from Dublin to universities, research institutes and system integrators throughout the European Union and the DACH region. We prepare each quotation for the configuration you specify, arrange delivery to your site and remain your point of contact for technical support after installation, so that the hand reaches your bench ready to be integrated rather than merely shipped.

Background

INSPIRE ROBOTS and the RH56 family

INSPIRE ROBOTS builds dexterous end-effectors for humanoid platforms and manipulation research. Its catalogue spans several hand families. The RH56F1 line is offered in left- and right-handed builds, with and without tactile sensing, and with a choice of communication interface. The RH56F1-E2R-T1 is the right-handed member of the line that carries tactile sensors. Its counterparts for the other side and for buyers without a need for touch data are listed under Inspire Robots and in the wider Robot Hands category. Because the family shares one architecture, a laboratory can standardise on a single hand design across several workcells and still choose the handedness and sensing each one requires.

Tactile sensing in an all-metal hand

Many dexterous hands rely on motor current alone to infer contact. That approach is indirect and becomes unreliable when friction or gearing losses change over time. The RH56F1-E2R-T1 measures contact at the palm directly, through eight tactile sensors with a 30N range and an accuracy of 5% FS. It is an all-metal tactile robotic hand for real-time EtherCAT control and repeatable manipulation research. Communication runs at 1 kHz, which suits control loops that close around tactile feedback rather than position alone. The design has been verified through 20 standardised durability tests, a reassurance for anyone planning long data-collection campaigns rather than short demonstrations.

Technical Specifications

Specifications are as published by the manufacturer and are confirmed against the datasheet at quotation.

The manufacturer has not published the IP rating, the operating temperature range, the payload at the wrist, the software SDK and drivers, the dimensions of the full hand or the service life in cycles; they are confirmed at quotation.

What makes the RH56F1-E2R-T1 suited to repeatable manipulation research?

Repeatability in manipulation depends on two things: the hand returning to the same pose, and the controller knowing what happened at contact. The RH56F1-E2R-T1 addresses both. Its ±0.2 mm repeatability means a grasp taught once can be reproduced with little drift. The palm sensors, read at a 0.1 N force resolution, report how that grasp actually lands on the object. Researchers comparing grasp strategies, or training policies from demonstration, need exactly this pairing, because a dataset is only as consistent as the hardware that produced it.

Robustness matters just as much. Learning-based experiments involve many failed attempts, and failed attempts mean impacts. An all-metal body with a 30 kg static passive load capacity is built to absorb that treatment. The 20 standardised durability tests point to a hand intended for sustained use rather than occasional display. Fingertip forces of 15 N or more at the thumb and 10 N or more at the fingers, with a closing time of 0.8 s or less, cover the everyday objects most manipulation benchmarks use.

Which communication option should I choose: RS485 or CAN FD?

The RH56F1 line comes in two interface pairings: EtherCAT with RS485, and EtherCAT with CAN FD. EtherCAT is the common thread, the deterministic fieldbus that suits the hand's 1 kHz communication and integrates naturally with industrial motion controllers and many humanoid control stacks. The secondary interface is a question of what your existing system already speaks. RS485 is a long-established serial link, simple to wire and widely supported by embedded boards. CAN FD is common on robot platforms that already run a CAN-based network for their joints.

The figures in the table above apply to the right-handed EtherCAT + RS485 build. If your project needs the CAN FD pairing, tell us when you request a quotation, and we will prepare it for that configuration.

Who is the Inspire Dexterous Right Hand With Tactile Sensors (RH56F1-E2R-T1) for?

The first audience is academic and corporate research laboratories working on dexterous manipulation, grasp planning and tactile perception. They benefit most from direct palm sensing combined with a fast, deterministic control link. Humanoid robot developers form the second group. For them, a compact right hand with a palm measuring 79.1 x 183.3 mm and a weight of 630 g ±10 g is a realistic candidate for an anthropomorphic arm. System integrators building teleoperation rigs or data-collection cells for robot learning make up the third segment, where durability over long sessions counts for more than any single headline figure.

Projects that need a matching hand for the other arm, for instance in bimanual research, should pair this unit with the Inspire Dexterous Left Hand With Tactile Sensors (RH56F1-E2L-T1). Teams that do not need tactile data, and would rather compare a right-handed build without the T1 designation, can review the Inspire Robots Dexterous Right Hand (RH56F1-E2R).

What is the Inspire Dexterous Right Hand With Tactile Sensors (RH56F1-E2R-T1) used for?

1. Tactile grasp research: studying how contact forces at the palm can stabilise grasps on objects of uncertain shape.
2. Robot learning datasets: recording consistent, repeatable demonstrations for imitation and reinforcement learning.
3. Humanoid end-effectors: fitting an anthropomorphic right hand to humanoid and dual-arm research platforms.
4. Teleoperation: mirroring an operator's hand movements, with tactile signals available for feedback to the operator.
5. Bimanual manipulation: working alongside the left-handed tactile counterpart in two-handed task studies.
6. Teaching and demonstration: giving engineering students hands-on experience with real-time EtherCAT control of a dexterous hand.

Pricing and Availability

Robots Europa supplies the RH56F1-E2R-T1 on quotation, prepared for the configuration you specify: handedness, communication interface, and any mounting adapters, controller, power supply or cables you wish to have itemised. Delivery, customs and support are arranged together with the quotation, so you receive a single, complete proposal for delivery anywhere in the EU or the DACH region. To begin, send us the details of your platform and project; the quotation request is available on this page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many degrees of freedom does the RH56F1-E2R-T1 have?

The hand has 6 DOF across 12 joints. This lets it form a wide range of grasps while keeping the number of actuators manageable for a controller.

What tactile sensing does it include?

It carries 8 palm tactile sensors with a 30N range and a tactile sensor accuracy of 5% FS. The force resolution is 0.1 N.

Which power supply does the hand require?

The operating voltage is 24V-48V, and the peak current is 5 A at 24V. A power supply is included only if it is itemised in your order.

Is a controller or mounting adapter included?

The delivery covers one RH56F1 hand in the ordered configuration. Mounting adapters, controller, power supply and cables are supplied only when they are itemised in the order, and we can include them in your quotation.

How quickly does the hand close, and how strong is its grip?

The hand closing time is 0.8 s or less. The thumb fingertip force is 15 N or more, and the finger fingertip force is 10 N or more.

Can I order the left-handed or CAN FD version instead?

Yes. The RH56F1 line is offered in left- and right-handed builds, each with EtherCAT + RS485 or EtherCAT + CAN FD. Tell us which configuration your project needs when you request a quotation.

Where can I buy the Inspire Dexterous Right Hand With Tactile Sensors (RH56F1-E2R-T1) and what does it cost?

You can buy it from Robots Europa, which supplies customers throughout the EU and the DACH region. The cost depends on your configuration and the accessories you require, so we provide it in a written quotation that you can request on this page.

Summary

The RH56F1-E2R-T1 is built around one idea: a research hand should not have to choose between surviving hard use and sensing what it touches. Its all-metal body, 30 kg static passive load capacity and 20 standardised durability tests cover the first need. The eight palm tactile sensors, 0.1 N force resolution, ±0.2 mm repeatability and 1 kHz EtherCAT communication cover the second. For laboratories, humanoid developers and integrators who need both strength and touch in one right hand, supplied and supported by Robots Europa across Europe, this page is the starting point.