ROBOTICS R&D
Physics models, EFM actuation, and AI agents on real hardware.
WHAT WE'RE BUILDING
A 17-DOF hand used as our control and actuation research platform.
Exploring EFM muscles as a quieter, softer actuation path for robotic hands.
Extending our multi-agent architecture from software into hardware control.
WHY EFM
Most robotic hands rely on motors and cables. EFM offers a lighter, quieter alternative.
No exposed cables. Low noise. Actuation inside the fiber.
Soft, precise movement designed to feel more like muscle than motor.
Eliminates the entire servo tower and cable routing system. Fibers embed directly into the hand structure.
EFM technology is based on published research from MIT Media Lab (Science Robotics, 2026). QKAI is independently exploring its application in dexterous hands.
MIT MEDIA LAB · SCIENCE ROBOTICS 2026
Video credit: MIT Media Lab · Science Robotics 2026 · CC BY 4.0 License · DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.ady6438
PERFORMANCE
50 W/kg
POWER DENSITY
20%
CONTRACTION
0.3s
RESPONSE TIME
2mm
FIBER DIAMETER
HOW IT WORKS
Platinum electrodes inside the fiber create charge injection in dielectric fluid. Coulomb force drives the liquid — a hydraulic micropump integrated into a 2mm fiber.
A flexible TPU tube wrapped in a braided nylon sleeve. When pressurised, the tube expands and the braid converts radial expansion into axial contraction — just like muscle.
Two antagonistic muscles connected through one pump in a sealed loop. One contracts, the other extends — exactly like biceps and triceps.
QKAI'S PLAN
Building the complete analytical EFM model in Python/JAX — pump pressure equations, McKibben hyperelastic model, dynamic response. Our foundation for university collaboration.
Engaging with UNSW Robotics. Bringing simulation code and the ORCA Hand prototype to manufacture EFM fibers in a proper lab environment.
Manufacture EFM fiber bundles and replace servo motors on one finger. Benchmark EFM vs Dynamixel on the same joint — force, precision, and noise.
All 17 DOF driven by EFM fiber muscles. A silent, lightweight, truly biomimetic dexterous hand — the world's first.
WHY QKAI IS DOING THIS
Motor + tendon is the current mainstream (TRL 8-9), but has a clear ceiling — noisy, heavy, mechanically complex
EFM sits at TRL 3-4, a wide-open space. No team in the world has built a complete dexterous hand with EFM
QKAI's edge = EFM dexterous hand + proprietary physics models + AI Agent control experience
EFM technology is based on research published by MIT Media Lab in Science Robotics (2026). DOI: 10.1126/scirobotics.ady6438
ROADMAP
3D printing structural components, assembling servo-driven hand, establishing R&D infrastructure.
EFM simulation, university collaboration, accelerator applications, and single-fiber experiments.
Replace servos with EFM fiber muscles. Full bionic hand prototype — silent, lightweight, truly biomimetic.
EFM technology is based on published research from MIT Media Lab (Science Robotics, 2026). QKAI is independently exploring its application in dexterous hands, currently in early prototyping.
LATEST INSIGHT
Why workflow redesign, AI agents, and structured operating data usually need to come first before physical automation becomes commercially credible.
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