Development of Intelligent Robot Hand Using Proximity, Contact and Slip Sensing

Abstract

To achieve the skilful task like the human, many researchers have been working on robot hand. An interaction with vision and tactile information are indispensable for realization of skillful tasks. In the existing research, the method using a camera to get the vision information is often found. But, near the object surface, vision has a weak point of the occlusion. In this research, we seamlessly detect from near to contact and achieve a reliable grasp through the integration of proximity, tactile and slip sensor in a three-fingered hand, and propose an appropriate grasp strength control derived from slippage information during grasping. As a practical task, Pick & Place was adopted, and was successful in implementation under the conditions of 1) weight/shape/friction conditions are unknown and 2) placement error exists. Although the sensor group did not necessarily provide a high accurate information, it showed sufficient effectiveness through its appropriate usage.