Quantitative Evaluation of Joint Relevance in Anthropomorphic Robot Hands

International Conference on Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics (ICARM), pp. 1–7

Abstract

Determining the relevance of individual joints for specific grasping tasks remains a challenge in the design of anthropomorphic robotic hands and is increasingly important for commercial applications. To the best of the authors' knowledge, only one existing study addresses joint relevance, but it does not provide actionable insights for task-specific hand design and omits several joints. We, thus, propose a modified methodology for task-based relevance identification of common grasps and present an experimental method for quantitative joint relevance identification. For the methodology, we present a “maximum DOF joint configuration” (IMDC) as an initial starting point. This configuration is derived from a comparison of human anatomy studies and current successful robotic hands. As an example application of the method, we assessed the quantitative relevance of HMC joints for the task of grasping a large cylinder. We modified the IMDC and created four identical prototypes with varying HMC joint configuration. Subsequently, we evaluated each joint's contribution to dexterity by measuring the maximum graspable weight. The surprising results indicate degraded performance when incorporating HMC joints. Underlying reasons are discussed, highlighting the importance of properly determining contact points and contact forces, resulting in a modified method for future investigations. The authors aim to share these early preliminary results to both stimulate discussion and receive valuable feedback for a subsequent journal publication, as well as to encourage collaboration on this comprehensive topic.

Authors 6

1. Daniel Gossen Aachen Institute of Mechanism Theory

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics, RWTH Aachen University,Aachen,Germany,52062

2. Sebastian Polzin Aachen Institute of Mechanism Theory

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics, RWTH Aachen University,Aachen,Germany,52062

3. Mark Witte Aachen Institute of Mechanism Theory

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics, RWTH Aachen University,Aachen,Germany,52062

4. Clément Gosselin

   Université Laval

   Affiliation as printed

   Université Laval,Laboratoire de Robotique,Quebec,Canada,G1V0A6

5. Mathias Huesing Aachen Institute of Mechanism Theory

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics, RWTH Aachen University,Aachen,Germany,52062

6. Burkhard J. Corves Aachen Institute of Mechanism Theory

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Mechanism Theory, Machine Dynamics and Robotics, RWTH Aachen University,Aachen,Germany,52062