11 accepted papers
Picking a thin object placed on a flat surface is challenging as contact regions are limited. Scooping grasp is a commonly used method for handling thin objects. However, the sharp fingertips are required to achieve the successful scooping motion, which are dangerous. This letter proposes a novel gr
In this study, a visual shock absorber capable of adapting to free-fall objects with various weights and speeds is designed and realized. The key element is a magnetic gear to passively absorb shock in the moment of contact, which is difficult for traditional feedback control to deal with. The magne…
Synergy provides a practical approach for expressing various postures of a multi-fingered hand. However, a conventional synergy defined for reproducing grasping postures cannot perform in-hand manipulation, e.g., tasks that involve simultaneously grasping and manipulating an object. Locking the posi…
In this study, Magripper, a highly backdrivable gripper, is developed to achieve high-speed hitting grasping executed seamlessly from reaching. The gripper is designed to achieve both high speed and environmental adaptability. The key element is backdrivability in terms of both hardware and control.…
This study proposes a dynamic observable contact (DOC) hand as a new multifingered hand to ensure high- speed insertion in an assembly process with a small clearance between objects. To achieve insertion with a small clearance at high speed, a robot hand must realize both impact reduction and positi…
In this letter, we propose a combination of sensing and control modules for catching soft objects (i.e., a marshmallow and paper balloon) at a high speed with small deformation. A paper balloon and marshmallow are deformed by a small force and they have individual differences in terms of softness. T
We developed a fingertip-size proximity sensor that detects the distance to and the tilt angle of the surface of an object with the peak-to-peak distance error less than 1/129th (<;31 μm) and the measuring time less than 1/10th (<;1 ms) those of existing sensors. In addition, we realized the task of
The robustness of the positioning and posturing of robot hands relative to target object and support surface is an important issue for autonomous grasping. For example, to perform a grasping action such as picking up thin objects from a table top, the position and posture of the hand must be control…
In this study, we propose integrated control of a robotic hand and arm using only proximity sensing from the fingertips. An integrated control scheme for the fingers and for the arm enables quick control of the position and posture of the arm by placing the fingertips adjacent to the surface of an o
Quick motion and soft touch control are important for autonomous grasping. To perform a grasping action, a hand must adjust its fingertips to match the object shape. It is also necessary to reduce the fingertip velocity on contact with the object.We propose a method of fingertip velocity control for…
This study presents a robot-hand-arm system with high robustness and responsiveness by using a “Net-Structure Proximity Sensor.” The sensor, which we have developed and specially designed for a robot hand, directly detects an object being to be grasped and outputs analog voltage signals according to…