Nikkei xTECH covers Honda’s four-finger hand and AI for dexterous tasks

On October 30, 2026, Nikkei xTECH published a feature on multifinger hands covering Honda and RIKEN. According to the excerpt, Honda developed a lightweight four-finger hand. The article’s stated themes include building dedicated AI for dexterous tasks and collecting tactile information with thin devices.

Nikkei xTECH’s article covers Honda’s four-finger hand as well as AI for dexterous tasks and the collection of tactile information. Beyond the hand’s performance, how tactile information will be used by AI is a key question for understanding the technical themes outlined in the article.

The article’s focus is not only on the hand’s mechanics; it also pairs the hand with AI for dexterous tasks and tactile information collection. However, the excerpt provided does not specify the dedicated AI’s architecture or training methods, the thin devices’ specifications, or how the collected information will be used. It is therefore not possible at this stage to assess how the hand, AI and tactile data are connected. We covered remote operation, multifinger hands and AI-assisted control in Honda demonstrates avatar robot at CEATEC 2026. Nikkei xTECH’s article addresses related themes involving hands and AI, but the excerpt provided does not show how they relate to remote operation or whether they are being used in actual work. The two articles cannot be taken as evidence of continuity in the technology or development. For the industry, key questions include the format in which tactile information is collected and how it is used to train dedicated AI or control tasks. The fact that the article covers data collection and AI development alongside the four-finger hand suggests that the overall development picture is difficult to grasp by evaluating the device alone. However, the excerpt does not provide information on production scale, applicable tasks or demonstration results, and offers no basis for concluding that mass production or commercialization is advancing. Points to watch include the specific method for acquiring tactile information, the AI’s role, and evaluations of task accuracy and safety.