--- title: Wristband enables wearers to control a robotic hand with... description: MIT engineers have developed an ultrasound wristband that tracks hand movements in real-time by imaging wrist muscles and tendons. Paired with an AI algorithm,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/wristband-enables-wearers-to-control-a-robotic-hand-with-their-own-movements-em1i2rrf1 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Wristband enables wearers to control a robotic hand with their own movements | daily.dev og:description: MIT engineers have developed an ultrasound wristband that tracks hand movements in real-time by imaging wrist muscles and tendons. Paired with an AI algorithm,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/wristband-enables-wearers-to-control-a-robotic-hand-with-their-own-movements-em1i2rrf1 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Em1i2RRF1.png og:image:alt: Wristband enables wearers to control a robotic hand with their own movements og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Wristband enables wearers to control a robotic hand with their own movements **[Robohub](https://daily.dev/sources/robohub)** · 8 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary MIT engineers have developed an ultrasound wristband that tracks hand movements in real-time by imaging wrist muscles and tendons. Paired with an AI algorithm, the device maps 22 degrees of freedom in the hand and fingers, enabling wearers to wirelessly control a robotic hand or manipulate virtual objects. Demonstrations include playing piano via a robot and interacting with 3D objects on screen. The team tested the device on eight volunteers performing ASL signs and object grasps. Future plans include miniaturizing the hardware, expanding the training dataset, and building toward a universal wearable hand tracker for humanoid robots and VR applications. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How does the MIT ultrasound wristband track hand movements to control a robotic hand? It uses a smartwatch-sized ultrasound sticker embedded in a wristband to continuously image the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the wrist as the hand moves. An AI algorithm trained on labeled ultrasound images correlates specific image regions with the hand's 22 degrees of freedom, translating wrist images into finger and palm positions that can wirelessly control a robotic hand or virtual object in real time. _Developers exploring novel human-robot interfaces can find hands-on research writeups like this on daily.dev._ ### Why is ultrasound imaging better than EMG sensors or camera-based systems for tracking hand gestures? Ultrasound imaging captures more continuous and dexterous hand movement data than electromyography (EMG) signals from wrist muscles, which are noisy and struggle to distinguish subtle in-between finger positions like partial pinches. It also avoids the practical drawbacks of camera-based systems, which suffer from visual obstacles, and sensor-laden gloves, which can restrict natural hand motion and sensation. _Anyone comparing sensing approaches for gesture control can track research like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [MIT’s ultrasound wristband tracks every finger movement and lets you control a robot hand in real time](https://daily.dev/posts/mit-s-ultrasound-wristband-tracks-every-finger-movement-and-lets-you-control-a-robot-hand-in-real-ti-hsbdqbuww) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Ultrasound imaging turns a robot hand into a skillful mimic](https://daily.dev/posts/ultrasound-imaging-turns-a-robot-hand-into-a-skillful-mimic-z2shjikij) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Scientists built an AI co-pilot for prosthetic bionic hands](https://daily.dev/posts/scientists-built-an-ai-co-pilot-for-prosthetic-bionic-hands-r4fdxwiru) · Ars Technica · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [LED Prosthetic Armband Senses Muscles With Light](https://daily.dev/posts/led-prosthetic-armband-senses-muscles-with-light-b9ye17c77) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#machine-learning](https://daily.dev/tags/machine-learning), [#robotics](https://daily.dev/tags/robotics), [#human-computer-interaction](https://daily.dev/tags/human-computer-interaction) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/wristband-enables-wearers-to-control-a-robotic-hand-with-their-own-movements-em1i2rrf1) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Wristband enables wearers to control a robotic hand with their own movements","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/wristband-enables-wearers-to-control-a-robotic-hand-with-their-own-movements-em1i2rrf1","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/wristband-enables-wearers-to-control-a-robotic-hand-with-their-own-movements-em1i2rrf1"},"datePublished":"2026-07-13T09:48:50.903Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:56:20.062Z","description":"MIT engineers have developed an ultrasound wristband that tracks hand movements in real-time by imaging wrist muscles and tendons. Paired with an AI algorithm,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f041e1cf1ecab830cb6051e74dcb1e2d?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/f041e1cf1ecab830cb6051e74dcb1e2d?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Robohub","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Robohub","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/79911e4f3a514623a70a98793133f536","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/robohub"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/wristband-enables-wearers-to-control-a-robotic-hand-with-their-own-movements-em1i2rrf1","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"machine-learning,robotics,human-computer-interaction","timeRequired":"PT8M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Robohub","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/robohub"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Wristband enables wearers to control a robotic hand with their own movements"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/wristband-enables-wearers-to-control-a-robotic-hand-with-their-own-movements-em1i2rrf1#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How does the MIT ultrasound wristband track hand movements to control a robotic hand?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It uses a smartwatch-sized ultrasound sticker embedded in a wristband to continuously image the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in the wrist as the hand moves. An AI algorithm trained on labeled ultrasound images correlates specific image regions with the hand's 22 degrees of freedom, translating wrist images into finger and palm positions that can wirelessly control a robotic hand or virtual object in real time. Developers exploring novel human-robot interfaces can find hands-on research writeups like this on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why is ultrasound imaging better than EMG sensors or camera-based systems for tracking hand gestures?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Ultrasound imaging captures more continuous and dexterous hand movement data than electromyography (EMG) signals from wrist muscles, which are noisy and struggle to distinguish subtle in-between finger positions like partial pinches. It also avoids the practical drawbacks of camera-based systems, which suffer from visual obstacles, and sensor-laden gloves, which can restrict natural hand motion and sensation. Anyone comparing sensing approaches for gesture control can track research like this on daily.dev."}}]} ```