Grasping using the whole finger

The authors have developed a method for calculating stable grasps of an object by enclosing it with a robotic finger, accounting for the rigid-body dynamics of both the finger and the object. Beginning with a set of contact points and assuming a local Coulomb friction model, a penalty method finds a set of contact forces that produce a stable grasp. From the known relationship between the finger-joint forces and the forces exerted by the finger links, the additional grasping force can be found and added to the joint force that is required to hold the finger in the grasping configuration. The authors illustrate their algorithm by some examples to show how to grasp and move an object using the whole finger