ARIA announces funded projects with Shadow Robot Company for advancing robot dexterity

London, England – May 29, 2025 – Shadow Robot Company is proud and excited to announce that they are leading the OGRES and UPWARD projects funded by ARIA to drive innovation in the development of advanced robotic hands. 

This significant investment of £11M by ARIA will empower Shadow Robot & partners to further groundbreaking work in the field, addressing fundamental challenges in hand design and power distribution, ultimately aiming to revolutionise robotic dexterity.

ARIA: Advanced Research and Invention Agency

ARIA is an R&D funding agency created to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. Created by an Act of Parliament, and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, we fund teams of scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of what is scientifically and technologically possible.

OGRES: Optimised General Robot End-effector System

Shadow Robot aims to develop a systematic process for the design stage of robotic hands. This project focuses on creating tools that enable engineers to select the right design and demonstrate its effectiveness.

The OGRES project has the opportunity to change the way we approach robot dexterity and how we construct robot hands. The project will produce functional physical robot hands, validating the set of tools’ ability to move from simulated designs to real-world applications.

Shadow Robot has been developing hands for over 25 years, in that time they have identified a number of fundamental challenges in robotic hand design. Shadow Robot and experts from Cambridge, Imperial, Bristol and Bath Universities, EPFL in Switzerland, MIT/Harvard spinout MorphoAI, AI research non-profit Basis and simulation start-up VSim aim to address these challenges.

UPWARD: UnPrecedented actuators: Paving the Way for Advanced Robotic Dexterity

UPWARD addresses the challenge of power distribution in robotic hands. Shadow Robot is working to develop methods to make all the joints of the robot hand move without compromising the hand form factor with too many actuators. This project has the opportunity to significantly change the way we think about robot dexterity and the construction of robot hands.

Working with Professor Ed Colgate’s group at Northwestern University and Professor Cynthia Hipwell’s group at Texas A&M, with support from the UK’s Manufacturing Technology Centre, Shadow Robot will explore new methods of power distribution to develop new robot hands unlocking the next steps in robot dexterity.

Both OGRES and UPWARD have powerful synergies. The OGRES process can enable the exploration of the UPWARD actuator designs to create more capable, more dexterous, and lighter robot hands.

“This funding is a testament to the dedication and innovation of our team,” stated Rich Walker, Director at Shadow Robot Company. “We are honoured and excited to continue our work in pushing the boundaries of robotic dexterity. These projects represent a significant leap forward in how we design and construct robot hands, and we’re thrilled to see where this investment will take us.”

“We see huge promise in next-generation applications of robot dexterity”, said Armando de la Rosa Tames, Managing Director of Shadow Robot Company. “We know there are a host of untapped applications for robot dexterity and we’re looking forward to working with the wider community to take this ARIA-funded research and use it to address them.”The £11M R&D funding from ARIA will enable Shadow Robot & their partners to make significant advancements in the field of robotic dexterity, driving progress and innovation in years to come.