The relation between human grip types and force distribution pattern in grasping

Abstract

It is important to analyze human grasping motions. In these classifications, grasping patterns depend for many parts on their personal definitions, and no unified view has been reached at present. The measured quantities in grasping include the posture of the hand, the grasping force and its distribution. Little has been reported on classifications based on the grasping force and its distribution. First, the paper describes a unique Sensor Glove MKIII, which has been developed to measure the grasping force and its distribution. Next, the Sensor Glove MKIII was used to classify grasping modes based on the distribution of grasping force. As a result, in the "prehensile grasp" classified by Cutkosky, the difference in grasping patterns due to the object shapes used in the experiment can be measured as the difference in pressure distribution patterns. In addition, it was found that the classification of grasping is possible using this sensor and the "contact web" method. Therefore, the result shows that the Sensor Glove MKIII can be useful for classification of grasping patterns.