Velvet fingers: A dexterous gripper with active surfaces

The design of grasping and manipulation systems is one of the most investigated topics in recent robotic and automation engineering. It is a process that has to take into account many development possibilities and to face different trade offs, as that between application possibilities and design complexity. In this work we present the design of a novel end-effector that merges the essential mechanics and control simplicity of underactuated devices, together with the high levels of manipulability usually featured in dexterous robotic hands. To obtain this enhancement, the proposed gripper considers the possibility offered by active surfaces, i.e. engineered contact surfaces able to simulate different levels of friction and to apply tangential thrust to the contacted object. The actual dexterity enhancement is evaluated by an analytical manipulability analysis and some examples of in hand manipulations and grasps are taken into account. A mechanical solution is presented, which implements the proposed idea through the adoption of one DoF active surfaces mounted on the fingers. The proposed solution presents a manipulability index one order of magnitude higher than common grippers.