Bimanual robot manipulators can achieve impressive dexterity, but typically rely on two full six- or seven-degree-of-freedom arms so that paired grippers can coordinate effectively. This traditional framework increases system complexity while only exploiting a fraction of the overall workspace for dexterous interaction. We introduce the MiniBEE (Miniature Bi-manual End-Effector), a compact system in which two reduced-mobility arms (3+ DOF each) are coupled into a kinematic chain that preserves full relative positioning between grippers. To guide our design, we formulate a kinematic dexterity metric that enlarges the dexterous workspace while keeping the mechanism lightweight and wearable. The resulting system supports two complementary modes: (i) wearable kinesthetic data collection with self-tracked gripper poses, and (ii) deployment on a standard robot arm, extending dexterity across its entire workspace. We present kinematic analysis and design optimization methods for maximizing dexterous range, and demonstrate an end-to-end pipeline in which wearable demonstrations train imitation learning policies that perform robust, real-world bimanual manipulation.
MiniBEE is a Mini Bi-Manual End-Effector. It is designed to enable full SE(3) mobility between two simple parallel grippers, while limiting the overall complexity and size of the system. Each miniature arm attached to grippers has only 3+ DOF relative to the tool frame of the larger robot arm. MiniBEE is designed to be compact and lightweight as possible, without compromising dexterity.
MiniBEE is compact and light enough that it can be worn for kinesthetic data collection. The operator wears the MiniBEE with a back brace, and controls the grippers with triggers. The joint angles are recorded from the motor encoders as well as two RGB data streams from the cameras mounted on each of the grippers.
KD Metric Visualization
6-DOF MiniBEE, KD Score = 2.7%
7-DOF MiniBEE, KD Score = 68%
8-DOF MiniBEE, KD Score = 92%
@misc{islam2025minibeenewformfactor,
title={MiniBEE: A New Form Factor for Compact Bimanual Dexterity},
author={Sharfin Islam and Zewen Chen and Zhanpeng He and Swapneel Bhatt and Andres Permuy and Brock Taylor and James Vickery and Pedro Piacenza and Cheng Zhang and Matei Ciocarlie},
year={2025},
eprint={2510.01603},
archivePrefix={arXiv},
primaryClass={cs.RO},
url={https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.01603},
}