Haptic exploration of objects with rolling and sliding

Abstract

We present an approach for haptic exploration of unknown objects with dextrous robotic hands. The emphasis is on developing a robust manipulation process that allows fingers to traverse the surface of an object. The process consists of a sequence of phases in which some fingers are responsible for grasping and manipulating the object while others roll and slide over the object surface. The rolling/sliding fingers can utilize sensors to determine surface properties such as texture, friction or small features such as grooves and ridges. Simulations and experiments with a two-fingered hand were conducted to investigate the robustness of the approach for exploring various object shapes.