A grasp evaluation procedure based on disturbance forces

A novel approach to grasp evaluation is proposed. The procedure is based on the ability of the grasp to resist disturbance forces. The result is easily visualized as a 3D surface in force space. Assuming that the grasped object is a polyhedron, the complete object geometry is taken into account when evaluating the grasp. This is an improvement over approaches that are based on the grasp matrix alone. Task information can be included by specifying object vertices that are likely to be in contact during the task. The procedure can be formulated as a min-max problem and an efficient algorithm for solving it is proposed. Additionally a simple example, demonstrating the concept and the algorithm, is shown.