GraspIt!: A Versatile Simulator for Grasp Analysis

Abstract

Abstract We have created a unique tool for grasp simulation, visualization, and analysis that allows a user to create and analyze grasps of a given 3D object model with a given articulated hand model. The grasps can be performed either automatically, where the system closes the fingers around the object at preset velocities, or manually through direct manipulation of the joints. As collisions occur between the links of the fingers and the object, the system locates the contacts and analyzes the evolving grasp on the fly. Each time the grasp changes, the system updates two numeric measures of quality and recomputes 3D projections of the grasp wrench space which are useful when visualizing a grasp’s capabilities. We provide examples of the system being used with four different articulated robotic hand models, each grasping different object models. We feel the system is very useful for hand designers who prototype different hand models in simulation and determine how design decisions affect a hand’s grasping ability. It is also useful for researchers in grasp planning or for simulation and virtual reality designers wishing to perform realistic grasping in a virtual setting.