Tactile-based object manipulation (TbOM) for a multi-fingered robot hand

Issue title: Selected Papers from the 15th International Symposium on Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (ISEM 2011)

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Fukui, Wataru^{a; *} | Kobayashi, Futoshi^a | Kojima, Fumio^a | Nakamoto, Hiroyuki^a | Maeda, Tadashi^b | Imamura, Nobuaki^c | Sasabe, Kazuhiro^d | Shirasawa, Hidenori^e

Affiliations: [a] Kobe University, Kobe, Japan | [b] Maeda Precision Manufacturing Limited Kobe, Kobe, Japan | [c] Hiroshima International University, Kure, Japan | [d] The Kansai Electric Power Company Inc., Amagasaki, Japan | [e] The Advanced Materials Processing Institute Kinki Japan, Amagasaki, Japan

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Wataru Fukui, Kobe University, 1-1Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe 657-8501, Japan. Tel.: +81 78 803 6489; Fax: +81 78 803 6489; E-mail: wataru.fukui@kojimalab.com

Abstract: Although a number of multi-fingered robot hands have been developed, none of these hands is in actual use. One reason for this is that conventional control methods are not useful for multi-fingered robot hands. A human manipulates an object using tactile information (contact points, direction, and severity of reaction force). In the present paper, a tactile-based control method for multi-fingered robot hands, which mimics human manipulation, is proposed. In the proposed method, three fingers are used for object manipulation, and object grasping and manipulation is achieved. The proposed method is implemented in Universal Robot Hand II, and its effectiveness is verified.

Keywords: Multi-fingered robot hand, manipulation, tactile information

DOI: 10.3233/JAE-2012-1578

Journal: International Journal of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics, vol. 39, no. 1-4, pp. 1055-1061, 2012