An underactuated hand for efficient finger-gaiting-based dexterous manipulation

This paper presents a minimalist, four-finger hand comprised of two pairs of tendon-driven, underactuated fingers decoupled by an independent, central, rotating axis. This mechanical configuration allows for finger-gaiting while also retaining the passive adaptability and other capabilities of the underactuated finger pairs. As a result, the hand, requiring only four actuators, is capable of a unique set of dexterous manipulation primitives, including finger-gaiting and precision manipulation, while retaining the robust, adaptive precision and power grasping behavior of underactuated hands. The low-cost, compact design is built with rapid-prototyping techniques and off-the-shelf components, enabling quick and inexpensive fabrication that can be produced using even desktop FDM 3D printers.