The Shadow Dexterous Hand (DH) is an anthropomorphic five-finger robotic hand engineered to approximate the size, kinematics, and functional range of a human hand. Unlike a simple parallel-jaw gripper, it emphasises human-like finger structure, multi-axis finger motion including abduction and adduction, and high-rate sensing that can be fused with external perception such as vision through common robotics software stacks. The classic configuration uses 20 tendon-driven actuators and supports 24 joint movements — 20 actuated degrees of freedom plus additional under-actuated, coupled motions — with a thumb offering 5 degrees of freedom and a little-finger palm joint that supports opposition for a wide range of power grasps and in-hand manipulation strategies.

Designed as a research-and-development tool, the DH is widely used for grasp planning, in-hand manipulation, tactile sensing, teleoperation, and AI-enabled embodied systems. Compact "Smart Motor" actuator modules integrated into the base and forearm combine actuation and sensing, while Shadow Tactile Fingertips (STFs) are fitted as standard on the thumb and index finger, with further tactile sensors available as an option. High sensor update rates — position and tactile at 1000 Hz — make it well suited to research-grade data collection and closed-loop control, and the EtherCAT version is designed for integration with ROS (Robot Operating System).