ABSTRACT
The human fingers structure may be correlated with serial rigid elements interconnected with joints, activated by a secondary system of struts and continuous cables of variable length, parallel to the links. The specific kinematics principle corresponds to the effective crank–slider kinematics approach that stepwise reduces a planar linkage system to an externally actuated generic single degree-of-freedom system for its complete reconfiguration. The two ends of the linkage structure are supported on the ground, through a pivot joint on one end and a linear sliding block on the other end. Each intermediate joint is equipped with brakes, and actuation is provided through the continuous cables, each connected to a corresponding linear actuator. A simulation study presented in the current paper refers to the preliminary kinematics and the comparative finite-element analysis of a group of planar hybrid linkage systems.
