FreeHand
A motorized, 3D-printed articulated hand that mirrors webcam-tracked human hand motion through five servos.
Project documentation
Before you build
Five answers, each linked to its source
What does it cost?
Not documented
No cost in the reviewed sources.
Can I sell what I build?
YesCommercial use OK
Hardware MIT · Software MIT. Licensing source
What’s open?
2 of 6CAD: AvailableBOM: Not documentedPCB: Not documentedCode: AvailableSim: Not documentedGuide: Partial
Guide partial · BOM, PCB, sim not documented. All six files
Is it maintained?
Not documented
No activity snapshot yet. Activity
01 / Under the shell
The specifications.
Hardware, build and software on one sheet. Every fact links to where we found it.
FreeHand is a 3D-printed articulated robotic hand with tendon-driven fingers and a 3D-printed servo wrist mounting bracket. Five SG90 servos, controlled by a Bluno Beetle v1.1, actuate the fingers using fishing-line tendons. OpenCV and MediaPipe track a person’s hand through a webcam, and the system maps the motion to the robotic hand.
Hardware
- Actuators
- 5 · SG90 servo motors, one per finger README
- Build
- 3D-printed · Hand structure and servo wrist mounting bracket Documentation
Building it
02 / The files behind the robot
What’s open.
Six parts of the build, each checked separately. Gaps stay visible.
| Part | Status | What’s there | License | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAD | Available | 3D-printable hand components are listed in handfiles. | Not documented | handfiles/ |
| Bill of materials | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | No source found |
| Electronics | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | No source found |
| Code | Available | The repository structure lists the vision and serial control pipeline and embedded code. | Not documented | README |
| Simulation model | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented | No source found |
| Assembly guide | Partial | README includes hardware setup and assembly notes. | Not documented | README.md |
03 / Know before you build
Can you sell it?
YesCommercial use OK
The whole repository, design files included, is MIT. You can build, modify and sell robots based on it, as long as you keep the license and copyright notices.
- Hardware
- MIT
- Software
- MIT
04 / The upstream project
Is it maintained?
Not documentedRepository activity is not documented
Active: activity within 90 days of the snapshot. Quiet: within a year. Dormant: longer.
05 / Parts & kits
A head start.
Maker-listed sellers only. No affiliate links or paid placement.
MAKER’S COST
Not documented
No cost in the reviewed sources.
Kit availability is not documented in our reviewed sources.
06 / Side by side
Compare with other hands & grippers.
Other hands & grippers in the directory, most recently active first. Same sources, same rules.
| Robot | Cost | Open files | Can I sell it? | Runs on | Maintained | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeHandThis robotJordan Fasolt-Holmes | Not documented | 2 of 6 | YesHW MIT · SW MIT | Python | Not documented | — |
| SSG48 adaptive electric gripperSource-Robotics | Not documented | 4 of 6 | YesHW Apache 2.0 · SW Apache-2.0 | ROS 2Python | ActiveSep 27, 2026 | 184 |
| YUBI GripperFrontier Research Center, Toyota Motor Corporation | Not documented | 3 of 6 | Yes, with creditHW CERN Open Hardware Licence Version 2 - Weakly Reciprocal (CERN-OHL-W v2) · SW CERN-OHL-W-2.0 | Not documented | ActiveSep 21, 2026 | 188 |
| Aero Hand OpenChestnut Robotics | $314complete kit | 6 of 6 | NoHW CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 · SW Apache-2.0 | ROS 2MuJoCoPython | ActiveSep 15, 2026 | 1,054 |
| This robotFreeHand | SSG48 adaptive electric gripper | YUBI Gripper |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | ||
| Not documented | Not documented | Not documented |
| Can I sell it? | ||
| Yes | Yes | Yes, with credit |
| Open files | ||
| 2 of 6 | 4 of 6 | 3 of 6 |
| Runs on | ||
| Python | ROS 2, Python | Not documented |
| Maintained | ||
| Not documented | ActiveSep 27, 2026 | ActiveSep 21, 2026 |
Upkeep is measured against each robot’s own snapshot. Costs keep the maker’s scope, so check what each figure covers.
See them in the table07 / Follow the evidence
Open books.
Repository files are pinned to commit 2f67cba. Websites and papers are listed with their review dates.
- 01README.md at 2f67cbaReviewed Nov 1, 2026
- 02LICENSE at 2f67cbaReviewed Nov 1, 2026