ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the kinematics of a multifingered robot hand grasping an object. It derives the relationships between finger and object velocities and forces, and explains conditions under which a grasp can be used to manipulate an object. The chapter includes a complete derivation of the kinematics of grasp when the fingers are allowed to roll or slide along the object. It investigates the use of multifingered robot hands as an alternative method for overcoming these difficulties. The chapter discusses the study of multifingered robot hands into two basic parts: kinematics and planning, and dynamics and control. It represents the forces at the contacts and on the object in terms of a set of coordinate frames attached at each contact location and the object reference point. The chapter shows one particularly simple method of computing and constructing force-closure grasps for the case of two point contacts with friction and a planar object.
