Robotic Grasping and Fine Manipulation

When a person picks up a metal part and clamps it in the chuck of a lathe, he begins with his arm, proceeds with his wrist and finishes with his fingers. The arm brings the part near the chuck. The wrist positions the part, giving it the proper orientation to slide in. After the part is inserted, the wrist and fingers make tiny corrections to ensure that it is correctly seated. Todays robot attempting the same operations is at a grave disadvantage if it has to make all motions with the arm. The following work investigates the use of robotic wrists and hands to help industrial robots perform the fine motions needed in a metal working cell. Chapters 1 and 2 are an introduction to the field and a review of previous investigations on related subjects. Little work has been done on grasping and fine manipulation with a robot hand or wrist, but the related subjects of robot arm dynamics and control have an extensive literature.