Kinematic Analysis of Underactuated Robotic Finger Design

Abstract

This paper presents a kinematic analysis of a novel underactuated robotic finger design. The design finger is a development of an index finger of the Ottobock hand. Namely, it consists of three phalanges with 3-degrees of freedom. A four-bar mechanism was used to make the finger self-adaptive with the grasped object. The Solidworks software was used to create the design, and the ANSYS software was used to analyze the design. The kinematic equations of the novel design are derived to get the optimum values of the links dimension that achieved the optimum grasping force by using the genetic algorithm. The normal force was measured by using the grasping force measuring mechanism. The models were manufactured using a 3D printer with hard Polylactic acid (PLA) printing material. The contact points’ normal force between phalanxes and grasping force measuring mechanism was measured using a load cell. The experimental results of the normal force of the finger were closed to the theoretical results.