Design and Development of an Anatomically Inspired Compliant Palm to Adaptively Reconfigure Precision and Power Grasps
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Chang, Ivy Yujean
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Abstract
The interchangeability between using various grasping configurations such as precision and power is proposed to be a key factor in augmenting a robotic hand’s functionality in various applications. One type of grasping is distinct from another due to power grasping’s added dependence on the palm. The design and integration of an equivalent palm in a robotic hand was created through an anatomically inspired process. Conducting a study tracking the movements of markers on a human palm, simplifying the complex behavior of bone, skin, and muscles was reduced to modeling a palm in the robotic hand as a series of interconnected hyper-elastic compliant beams (CB). Simulation of this Compliant Anatomical Palmar Mechanism (CAPM) found similar shaping characteristics in humans during grasping. Contact forces are mapped across the surface of a spherical object to estimate the contact regions between precision and power type grasping. By comparing these two grasps achieved by the same hand, a modeled task of static grasping of a spherical object subjected to an external force measures the effectiveness of the integration of a palm to stabilize grasps and withstand larger amounts of torque in specific applications. These findings demonstrate the potential of incorporating the palm as an essential mechanism during grasping to transition from precision to power to withstand unpredictability in forces in its operating environment. Adapting between these two configurations, the term “efficient grasp switching” describes this potential need for hardware adjustment that redefines the way robotic systems can be evaluated to perform both precision and power grasping.
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2024-12-02
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Text
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Dissertation (PhD)