HandUMI is a hand-worn data collection gripper from Mu Robotics, an open-source variant of the Universal Manipulation Interface (UMI). You wear one unit on each hand, pinch to open and close it, and record bimanual demonstrations that later retarget to robot arms with parallel-jaw grippers. No robot is needed while collecting.

How is HandUMI different from the original UMI gripper?

The original UMI is a handheld gripper that recovers wrist pose with offline SLAM on GoPro footage and estimates gripper width from fiducial markers. HandUMI is worn on the fingers, takes wrist pose from a VR headset and its controllers with no SLAM step, measures gripper width directly with a servo encoder, and swaps fingertips to match different robot grippers.

Do I need a robot to collect data with HandUMI?

No. Demonstrations are recorded with your hands only, anywhere the task happens. The robot is needed at deployment time, or optionally for teleoperation, since the same units can drive AgileX PiPER and OpenArm directly.

Which robots does HandUMI support?

Captures retarget in software to AgileX PiPER, OpenArm, TRLC-DK1, I2RT YAM, MakerMods Metal Arm and other bimanual arms with parallel-jaw grippers. Fingertips are available for AgileX PiPER, UMI soft gripper, ARX X5 (2023), Dream Machines Dream Gripper (TRLC-DK1), MakerMods Metal Arm, Trossen WidowX AI, I2RT YAM. Any comparable parallel-jaw gripper can be supported with one new printed tip.

Does HandUMI work with LeRobot?

Yes. The open-source HandUMI software records, validates and curates episodes and exports LeRobot-compatible datasets ready for policy training.

Which VR headset do I need?

A Meta Quest 3 or a PICO 4 Ultra with its two controllers. The headset provides the world frame and each controller, mounted on the wrist, gives that hand's trajectory. It is a one-time purchase shared across units and is not included with the pair.

Is HandUMI open source? Can I build it myself?

Yes. The hardware (STL and STEP files plus bill of materials) and the software are published under the Apache 2.0 license at github.com/murobotics-ai. Parts cost roughly $110 per unit if you print and assemble it yourself. The shop sells the same design assembled, calibrated and ready to record.

How much does HandUMI cost and what is included?

$749 USD for a bimanual pair: two assembled and calibrated units with fisheye camera, servo gripper, the fingertips you choose, power supply and USB-C cabling. Shipping is a flat $30 per order, delivery takes 7 to 15 business days, and import duties are not included.

What does each HandUMI unit record?

Three streams synchronized against a shared clock: SE(3) wrist pose from the VR controller, gripper width from the servo encoder, and wrist-view fisheye video.

Can HandUMI teleoperate a robot?

Yes. The same units act as a teleoperation interface for AgileX PiPER and OpenArm, with no leader arms to buy per operator. Voice commands such as "start recording" are recognized offline, so episode control stays hands-free.

HandUMI.

Name: HandUMI
Brand: Mu Robotics
Price: 749 USD
Availability: InStock

Collect robot training data without the robot. Record demonstrations with your own hands, anywhere; each episode retargets to multiple robot platforms. No leader arm, no robot in the loop. And when you do want one, the same hardware teleoperates it directly.

$749bimanual pair · assembled & calibrated

[ Buy now → ]

Pick your gripper tip

The body, camera, servo, and tracking mount are the same on every unit. Only the detachable fingertips change to match your robot, so demonstrations line up with the gripper you deploy on.

Choose the tip that matches your arm and the pair ships fitted with it. The same pair follows you across embodiments: swap the tip and it captures for a different arm, no second unit to buy.

HandUMI unit fitted with AgileX PiPER fingertips

HandUMI unit fitted with UMI soft gripper fingertips

Collect data anywhere

HandUMI mounts on your hand and records everything a policy needs: SE(3) wrist pose from a VR headset, no offline SLAM step; true gripper width from a servo encoder, not estimated from images; and wrist-view fisheye video.

It is modular: only the detachable fingertip changes from one robot to the next, so a new parallel-jaw gripper is one printed part away.

Around 8× cheaper than a bimanual leader-follower rig, and with no robot to haul you collect where the task happens: kitchen, warehouse, field.

Operator wearing the bimanual HandUMI setup: two hand-worn units and a head-mounted camera

A better way to teleoperate

The same units double as a teleoperation interface: your hands drive AgileX PiPER or OpenArm directly, with no leader arms to buy per operator. Natural pinch control makes precision work tractable, like plugging USB-C into a keyboard, notoriously hard with leader-follower puppeteering.

Episode control is hands-free: say “start recording”, recognized offline, and work with both hands busy.

[ Read the write-up → ]

Operator teleoperating two robot arms with a HandUMI unit in each hand

What you get

Two assembled and calibrated units, ready to record out of the box: fisheye camera, servo gripper, swappable fingertips, power supply, and USB-C cabling.

Works with your VR headset of choice: Meta Quest 3 or PICO 4 Ultra.

Diagram: HandUMI units collect demonstrations by hand; robot arms are used only for deployment

Open-source software

The full stack ships free and open source. With the units and that software you can:

Record robot-free demonstrations and run them through the full pipeline: replay, automated validation, and curation, so only clean episodes reach your dataset
Retarget the same captures to AgileX PiPER, OpenArm, TRLC-DK1, I2RT YAM, MakerMods Metal Arm, and other bimanual arms with parallel-jaw grippers, and export LeRobot-compatible datasets
Teleoperate AgileX PiPER and OpenArm directly, with hands-free voice control that works offline

One robot-free capture, replayed on AgileX PiPER, OpenArm, TRLC-DK1, and I2RT YAM.

$749bimanual pair · assembled & calibrated

[ Buy now → ]

Prices in USD. Flat $30 shipping per order, delivery in 7 to 15 business days; import duties not included. Questions? Write to us.