Liu Xin, Founder of Boya Intelligence: Dexterity Hands Sold 20,000 Units, Mostly Gathering Dust; Model Capabilities May Reach an Inflection Point Before Hardware
In an interview, Liu Xin, founder of Boya Intelligence (China), pointed out a structural gap in the dexterity hand industry between low-degree-of-freedom products used for 'performance' and high-degree-of-freedom products intended for 'scientific research.' He argued that the industry needs to open up a third market that brings scientific-grade operational capabilities into practical applications at an acceptable cost. He believes that model capabilities may break through before hardware reliability does; when that happens, the limitation on robot deployment will no longer be the AI brain, but rather the durability and strength of the hands.
The publicly verifiable shipment volume of dexterity hands in the industry last year was approximately 20,000 units. However, Liu Xin, founder of Boya Intelligence (China), observed that most of these dexterity hands end up performing with humanoid robots for a few shows and then being left gathering dust in corners. In his view, current products are polarized: low-degree-of-freedom dexterity hands are cheap and durable, costing only a few thousand yuan, but their operational capabilities are very limited, primarily used for humanoid robot performances; high-degree-of-freedom products offer better operational capabilities, with mainstream prices exceeding 100,000 yuan, but their lifespan may be only one or two weeks, or at most one or two months. They are often purchased and kept as ornaments because users dare not use them, breaking down after just one week to two or three months of use.
Liu Xin believes the industry needs to create a 'third market': bringing scientific-grade operational capabilities into practical applications at an acceptable cost to solve problems that past automation equipment could not handle. He cited a specific example—some small factories near Shenzhen need to inspect parts under high-magnification electron microscopes after production, flipping each side of every part. Traditional grippers certainly cannot perform such tasks. Yet such products do not exist today; the most advanced and high-end dexterity hands on the market still fall far short of human hand capabilities.