A quasi-static analysis of dextrous manipulation with sliding and rolling contacts

M.A. Peshkin and A.C. Sanderson´s minimum power principle (see IEEE Int. Conf. on Rob. & Autom., p.421-6, April 25-29, 1988) for quasi-static systems is used to combine force and kinematic relationships into a nonlinear mathematical program called the forward object motion problem. Given the joint velocities of the robot´s hand and arm, the solution of the forward object motion problem predicts not only the velocity of the object (as determined by kinematic analyses), but also the contact forces. In kinematic analyses one must guess as to the nature of all contact interactions (i.e. sliding, rolling, or separating). The solution of the forward object motion problem definitively determines these interactions and the contact forces as a byproduct of determining the velocity of the manipulated object