Motorica Ships Omni Hand, First Bionic Prosthesis Run on Optical Sensors
Motorica has begun rolling out Omni Hand, a bionic prosthesis that replaces surface electromyography with optical myography sensors and recognises six phantom gestures without mode switching.
Key Takeaways
Motorica's Omni Hand is billed as the world's first commercially available bionic prosthesis to replace surface electromyography (EMG) with optical myography (OMG) sensors.
OMG sensors detect blood-flow and micro-movement patterns beneath the skin, delivering cleaner signals across skin tones, sweat conditions and stump geometries — historic limitations of myoelectric accuracy.
Omni Hand recognises up to six phantom gestures — including full fist, precision pinch, point and open palm — without the mode switching required by most competing systems.
Mass production is scheduled for 2026, with distribution across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
HTF Market Intelligence projects the bionic-hands market to grow 8.2% annually through 2033, with Omni Hand joining a 2026 wave that includes the Utah Bionic Leg and Kawatek RYO, plus new Ukrainian government grants for prosthesis makers.
Kaan Tınmaz
MedTech firm Motorica has begun rolling out Omni Hand, which it describes as the world's first commercially available bionic prosthesis to swap surface electromyography for optical myography (OMG). The device recognises up to six phantom gestures and executes them without the mode-switching most competing systems still require.
Optical myography replaces skin-electrode sensors
Instead of picking up surface EMG signals — the industry-standard input for myoelectric hands — Omni Hand uses optical sensors that detect blood-flow and micro-movement patterns beneath the skin as the wearer imagines a movement. Motorica calls the technique optical myography (OMG) and says it produces cleaner, more consistent signals across skin tones, sweat conditions and stump geometries, three factors that have historically limited myoelectric prosthesis accuracy.
Six gestures, no menu diving
The prosthesis can identify a set of imagined hand movements — including a full fist, precision pinch, point and open palm — and recognise up to six gestures without asking the user to switch input modes. That gesture library is small compared with research prototypes, but Motorica has prioritised reliability and single-motion latency for daily-living tasks like grasping utensils, holding phones and shaking hands.
2026 mass production, global distribution
Motorica has scheduled mass production for 2026 with distribution across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Analysts at HTF Market Intelligence project the bionic-hands market to compound at 8.2% annually through 2033, and Omni Hand joins a widening 2026 product wave that already includes Utah Bionic Leg for above-knee amputees and Japan's Kawatek RYO. Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers also confirmed 2026 grants for domestic prosthesis manufacturers, opening a fresh procurement channel for OMG-based hardware.
Reporting based on coverage from Digital Health News, The Machine Maker and MDPI.
What is optical myography (OMG) and how does it differ from EMG?
Optical myography uses optical sensors to detect blood-flow and micro-movement patterns beneath the skin when a wearer imagines a movement, instead of reading surface electrical muscle signals like EMG. Motorica says OMG produces cleaner, more consistent signals across varying skin tones, sweat conditions and stump geometries.
How many gestures can the Omni Hand recognise?
It recognises up to six imagined phantom gestures — including a full fist, precision pinch, point and open palm — and executes them without requiring the user to switch input modes.
When and where will the Omni Hand be available?
Motorica has scheduled mass production for 2026, with distribution planned across Europe, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.
Why is the gesture library limited to six gestures?
While small compared with research prototypes, Motorica prioritised reliability and single-motion latency for daily-living tasks such as grasping utensils, holding phones and shaking hands.
