Editorial: A human perspective on robotic hand design, analysis, control and beyond

Robotic hands and upper-limb prostheses stand at the intersection of mechanical design, intelligent control, 2 and human experience, representing one of the most challenging frontiers in robotics and human-machine 3 interaction. Despite remarkable progress in actuation, sensing, and learning, achieving manipulation 4 capabilities that are robust, adaptable, and intuitive remains a fundamental challenge. With their remarkable 5 and efficient manipulation skills, the human hand can serve as an inspiration to further advance the 6 development of robotic hands. Therefore, we believe that the human perspective is key to address the 7 robotic challenges we are facing in manipulation. Robotic hands are inspired by, interact with, assist, or 8 replace human hands, and must therefore be understood not only as technical systems, but also as embodied The four contributions selected in this special issue reflect this perspective by spanning learning paradigms, 13 dexterous manipulation, clinical prosthetics, and human-centered robotic assistance, as depicted in Figure 1.14 Together, they illustrate how advances in robotic hands increasingly emerge from the integration of human 15 factors with robust engineering and learning-based approaches.On the topic of robot learning, Welte and Rayyes provide a comprehensive survey of interactive imitation