An investigation of grasp type and frequency in daily household and machine shop tasks

This paper presents a study on the usage frequency of different grasp types throughout the daily functions of a professional house maid and a machinist. Subjects wore a head-mounted camera that recorded their hand usage during their daily work activities. This video was then analyzed, recording grasp type and associated time stamps, as well as information related to the task and object. The results show that nearly 80% of the time the house maid used just six grasps and the machinist used nine. This data, in conjunction with established grasp taxonomies, will enable a better understanding of how people utilize different grasps to accomplish tasks throughout the day, as well as inform the design of robotic and prosthetic hands.