Glossary · Control
Degrees of freedom
Also known as: DOF
In brief
Degrees of freedom (DOF) count the number of independent ways a robot can move. Each actuated joint contributes one DOF. A typical humanoid hand has 11–22 DOF; a full humanoid platform commonly has 25–40 DOF excluding the hands.
DOF is the most basic capability number on any robot spec sheet. More DOF means more dexterity but also more cost, more failure modes, and more control complexity. A 6-DOF arm can reach any pose in its workspace; a 7-DOF arm adds redundancy that lets the elbow swing out of the way of obstacles without changing the hand pose.
For humanoids, the headline DOF count usually doesn't include hand joints — those are quoted separately because hand designs vary so widely. A "27-DOF humanoid" with two 11-DOF dexterous hands is really a 49-DOF system, but the 27 number is what gets compared on spec sheets.
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