Primitive based control of the Utah/MIT dextrous hand

An abstraction of dextrous manipulation and a control scheme for the Utah/MIT dextrous hand is described. The abstraction of robotic manipulation is based on motion primitives. Each primitive represents a small, coordinated set of joint motions that performs a distinct functional task. Primitives are defined as sequences of joint position changes that, when executed, cause functionally significant motion of the fingers. By defining the primitives as changes in position, rather than as absolute position trajectories, the ability to execute a primitive from any pose of the hand is gained. Hand programming language (HPL), a language and execution environment supporting the primitive abstraction, has been developed. Programming in HPL allows the user to describe dextrous manipulation tasks at a high level, insulated from the complex multiprocessing hierarchy controlling the hand