Precision manipulation with a dextrous robot hand

Abstract

Despite the building of a number of complex robot hands in the last two decades, there have been few experimental demonstrations of robot hand dexterity. This paper outlines several key issues associated with precision manipulation for robot hands. "Precision manipulation " is defined as the control of grasped object position and applied force using fingertip contacts alone. The approach taken is to define a set of skills---primitive manipulation functions---which the robot can perform. The manipulations are generalizable in the sense that they take parameters for different object geometries, speed and direction of motion. A single manipulation can also be performed with a number of different grasp topologies. With each manipulation there are several associated computations. First, the trajectories of the contact points can be calculated a priori from knowledge of the desired object motion. Second, a workspace analysis is performed to determine that the manipulation is within...