A high power/weight dexterous manipulator using 'Sensory Glove' based motion control and tactile feedback

Abstract

Manipulators in one form or another have been in existence for many hundreds of years with the design (ranging from simple hooks or two-jaw systems to complex multi-articulated grippers) usually motivated by the particular class of task. When the problem domain includes a varied range of objects, one approach is to emulate those attributes of the human hand which make it such a versatile end-effector. This work considers the design of a dexterous (3-fingered 1-thumb) hand driven by newly developed high power/ weight performance pneumatic muscle actuators (PMA). Although the manipulator can be used in conventional robotic applications the primary aim is for a high-performance tele-presence system with full manipulator input and tactile feedback. The robot manipulator closely replicates the skeletal layout of the human hand, making controlfrom a gloved input device (developed at Salford) feasible, thereby substantially reducing the control difficulties associated with decterous devices and making widevpread low cost use of flexible manipulative devices possible.