A grasp strategy with the geometric centroid of a groped object shape derived from contact spots

This paper proposes a strategy for grasp and manipulation of unknown objects. In order to derive force relations of fingers, the groped shape of soft fingers is introduced. The groped shape is not equal to the real object shape, but is tightly related to the force equilibrium of fingers. By considering contact forces of the groped shape, a simple control parameters can be derived. The manipulation of an object is easily accomplished by embedding the concept of virtual centroid into the grasp control to redistribute internal forces. With these concepts, an object can be easily translated, rotated, and manipulated by relocating fingers. The proposed method is verified with experiments.