Amazing robot hands from Kyper Labs

What if the hardest part of building a humanoid robot isn’t the brain but the hands? Robot hands are half the complexity of a robot, a humanoid robot CEO told me a while back: they're insanely difficult to get right.In this episode of TechFirst, I talk with Kyber Labs co-founders Tyler Habowski and Yonatan Robbins about why dexterity, maybe even more than AI, is the true bottleneck in robotics.Some of the quotes:- “There are literally zero robot hands deployed right now doing routine work.”- “The best hands are hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they break all the time …”Before the interview, you’ll see an exclusive demo of their next-generation robotic hand in action showing just how far manipulation technology has come.We dig into:• Why humans rely on force, not precision, to manipulate objects• The surprising flaw in most robotic hands today• How Kyber’s “torque-transparent” design works without expensive sensors• Why hardware—not software—is still the limiting factor• A practical path to real-world automation (without sci-fi hype)This isn’t about futuristic humanoids doing everything. It’s about solving real problems today ... from lab automation to manufacturing ... by building hands that actually work.⸻👤 GuestsTyler HabowskiCo-founder, Kyber LabsBackground: SpaceX, robotics manufacturingYonatan RobbinsCo-founder, Kyber LabsBackground: Industrial design, mechanical engineering, medical devices⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 Why Robot Hands Are So Hard01:30 Sneak Peek + Demo Setup01:30 Demo: Kyber Labs Robot Hand in Action05:30 Interview Start: Are Hands Half the Problem?06:45 Humans Use Force, Not Precision08:45 Why Most Robot Hands Fail10:45 How Kyber’s Hands “Feel” Without Sensors13:15 Back-Drivability vs Torque Transparency15:30 Hardware vs AI: What Actually Matters?17:30 Why Better Hands Unlock Better Robots19:15 Real-World Use Case: Automating Lab Work22:00 Vision vs Touch in Robotics24:00 Why Start With Stationary Robots25:45 Not Building Humanoids (Yet)27:15 What Is a “Minimum Viable” Robot Hand?29:15 The Problem With Today’s Grippers30:45 What the Ultimate Robot Hand Looks Like32:15 The Real Breakthrough: Deploy and Iterate33:30 Final Thoughts + Wrap-Up