Adam Savage Tests the “Thing” from Netflix’s Wednesday — Powered by MANUS Gloves

Adam Savage’s Tested, one of the most trusted YouTube channels for makers and engineers, explored the creation of a fully redesigned animatronic “Thing” hand built for Netflix’s hit series Wednesday.

In collaboration with Raptor House FX, the team used MANUS Metagloves Pro to enable real-time remote puppeteering, combining high-precision hand-tracking with expressive mechanical control for a lifelike on-screen performance.

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Background

Raptor House FX is a specialty design and fabrication studio serving clients in film, television, and live entertainment. The team has collaborated with Netflix over the past few years to bring Wednesday’s “The Thing” to life for in-person events and red-carpet appearances.

As Netflix prepared for the Wednesday Season 2 premiere, the production team aimed to elevate the red-carpet experience with a more lifelike and interactive version of “The Thing.”

Instead of functioning as a static prop, the goal was to make the character feel alive and capable of playful, spontaneous gestures that could interact naturally with guests and cameras.

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Challenge

• Human-like realism: The movements had to feel natural, fluid, and emotionally expressive — not robotic.
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• Wireless control: For live events, the hand needed to perform untethered, with no visible puppeteer or cables.
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• Rapid build timeline: From concept to premiere, the team had only three months, with one month of actual build time.
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• Reliability in public settings: The system had to perform reliably in a noisy, crowded, uncontrolled space while remaining quiet, stable, and responsive.

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Solution: MANUS Metagloves Pro Brings Precision and Expression

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“I did not expect it to be that responsive.”  — Adam Savage, Tested

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At the heart of this setup was MANUS Metagloves Pro, providing millimeter-level accuracy, zero drift, and ultra-low latency hand tracking.

This precision allowed the puppeteer to map natural hand movements directly to the Alt Bionics Surge Hand, transforming a mechanical assembly into a believable, expressive character.

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Key Advantages of MANUS Metagloves Pro

• EMF-based tracking: Immune to occlusion and lighting variations, ensuring consistent control in any environment.
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• 25 DOF capture: High-resolution hand motion tracking, enabling nuanced gestures like pointing, waving, and grasping.
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• Ultra-low latency: Real-time response created the illusion of autonomous movement.
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• Production-ready integration: MANUS Core provided fast calibration and stable streaming into the prosthetic controller.

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Behind the Scenes: The Complete Setup of “The Thing”

Here’s an overview of how “The Thing” was built:

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This seamless integration of real-time hand tracking and prosthetic control brought the beloved character to life, enabling dynamic, human-like expressions that went far beyond previous versions. According to Jesse Velez, the team is already developing Version 3 of “The Thing,” featuring enhanced finger splay and greater gesture range, building on the MANUS control pipeline that made this performance possible.

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