DEXTEROUS ROBOT FINGERS WITH DESIRABLE KINEMATIC FORMS

Kinematic chains with mobility requirements that are suitable for appl ications such as dextrous robot hands can be found wing a process call ed number synthesis. This process, however; enumerates many kinematic chains, some of which are more suitable than others for practical appl ications. Here,ve examine those characteristics of kinematic chains wh ich make for practical and robust dextrous robot hands. Eliminating th e chains that possess undesirable characteristics while retaining thos e with desirable features vastly reduces the list of candidates, leavi ng only the most suitable chains. Number synthesis produces kinematic chains independent of specific joint and link geometry; a process for assigning essential di,dimensions to a kinematic chain is discussed.