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Underactuated Three-Finger Robot Hand with Human-Like Flexion

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International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Numerous studies have been conducted on three-finger robot hands, which are widely used in industries. These studies led to the development of motorized prosthetic hands for amputees. Although many developers have focused on the functionality of motorized prosthetic hands, prosthetic users place more importance on the human-like motion of the device owing to social implications. Therefore, this study aims to achieve human-like flexion of a three-finger robot hand. Each finger contains three phalanges joined by pivots and torsional return springs. A tendon wire runs through guide pins inside the phalanges up to the linear actuator located in the forearm. When the tendon wire is pulled, the finger is flexed. The return springs are optimally selected based on ADAMS simulations and kinesiology of the human hand. The selection is then verified by experiments

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Abbreviations

C PIM :

Ratio of spring coefficients of PIP and MCP joints

C DIP :

Ratio of spring coefficients of DIP and PIP joints

S PIM :

Slope of variations in PIP and MCP joint angles

S DIP :

Slope of variations in DIP and PIP joint angles

K MCP :

Coefficient of torsion spring in MCP joint

K PIP :

Coefficient of torsion spring in PIP joint

K DIP :

Coefficient of torsion spring in DIP joint

\(\theta_{MCP}\) :

Rotation angle of MCP joint

\(\theta_{PIP}\) :

Rotation angle of PIP joint

\(\theta_{DIP}\) :

Rotation angle of DIP joint

R MCP :

Distance between center of MCP joint and tendon wire

R PIP :

Distance between center of PIP joint and tendon wire

R DIP :

Distance between center of DIP joint and tendon wire

M MCP :

Moment on MCP joint

M PIP :

Moment on PIP joint

M DIP :

Moment on DIP joint

T :

Tension on tendon wire

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea University, 145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Hyo-Chan Kwon & Kwon-Hee Kim

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School, Korea University, 145, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    Doo-Hyun Cho

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  1. Hyo-Chan Kwon
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Correspondence to Kwon-Hee Kim.

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Kwon, HC., Cho, DH. & Kim, KH. Underactuated Three-Finger Robot Hand with Human-Like Flexion. Int. J. Precis. Eng. Manuf. 22, 791–798 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12541-020-00461-2

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