Control for multi-finger hands

Abstract

This chapter attempts to develop a complete set of dynamics of 2-dimensional grasping under rolling contact constraints and propose a control methodology for preserving stability of a grasp under arbitrarily given object and fingerend shapes. The computational model is derived by means of moving frame coordinates under the postulate that two contact points on each contour curve share a single common point and have the same tangent. A control signal for blind grasping is given by referring to the fingers-thumb opposability of human hands. It is shown theoretically and computationally that the control stabilizes motion of the fingers-object system toward its optimal composition. Together with a historical note on blind grasping, a mathematical modeling for numerically simulating 3D grasping is discussed.