Coordinating a robot arm and multi-finger hand using the quaternion representation

An algorithm is presented which, given a desired position and normal for each fingertip, computes all the joint angles for the fingers and arm. The primary method for handling this underconstrained problem is to optimize a cost function. Methods are also given for generating good candidates to be optimized. Several new techniques are given for using the quaternion form to optimize rotation. Experimental results from using the algorithm to apply complicated grasps with a Utah/MIT hand-arm system are presented