A wire-driven miniature five fingered robot hand using elastic elements as joints

Abstract

This paper describes a new driving mechanism for a miniature robot hand. In developing miniature robot hands for dexterous manipulation, it is necessary to consider miniaturizing and minimizing. The proposed mechanism uses elastic torsion springs and hinges as joints, and the finger is wire-driven from actuators placed outside the robot hand. First, the driving mechanism of a one joint finger is described, and the mechanism is applied to a five-fingered miniature robot hand. The robot hand is one-half the size of the hand of an adult male, and has a total of eighteen degrees of freedom (DOF). The properties of the robot hand are discussed, and are shown to be an effective mechanism for miniature robot hands.