Abstract
In this article, the design of a five-fingered anthropomorphic gripper is presented specifically designed for the manipulation of elastic objects. The manipulator features a hybrid design, being equipped with three fully actuated fingers for precise manipulation, and two underactuated, tendon-driven digits for secure power grasping. For ease of reproducibility, the design uses as many off-the-shelf and 3D-printed components as possible. The on-board controller circuit and firmware are also presented. The design includes resistive position and angle sensors in each joint, resulting in full joint observability. The controller has a position-based controller integrated, along with USB communication protocol, enabling gripper state reporting and direct motor control from a PC. A high-level driver operating as a Robot Operating System node is also provided. All drives and circuitry of the PUT-Hand are integrated within the hand itself. The sensory system of the hand includes tri-axial optical force sensors placed on fully actuated fingers’ fingertips for reaction force measurement. A set of experiments is provided to present the motion and perception capabilities of the gripper. All design files and source codes are available online under CC BY-NC 4.0 and MIT licenses.
Highlights
Manipulation of elastic pipes and wires in factory environments is performed mainly by human operators
The manipulation of elastic objects is performed by robots which can adapt to the changes in the process
We focus on the design of a robotic hand which can be used to manipulate elastic objects
Summary
Manipulation of elastic pipes and wires in factory environments is performed mainly by human operators. The manipulation of elastic objects is performed by robots which can adapt to the changes in the process This scenario is still challenging, due to the deficiencies in mechanical design of the grippers and the perception systems. Capabilities of the grippers available in the industry are limited, as most of them are two-fingered or three-fingered [1,2,3] They are often fully actuated systems with position-based control, designed for precise manipulation. Many adaptive grippers are designed to replace missing body parts, mimicking the human hand, with five fingers [4] Digits can be both fully actuated [5] or underactuated for better. Electronics 2020, 9, 1147 adaptation to shape of grasped objects [6] They are designed to replace human hands, not to operate as a gripper of an industrial robot. We present the application of the hand in several tasks related to manipulation of elastic objects, including grasping, tactile sensing, and application-oriented tasks
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
