Robot catching with high manipulability grasp configuration using vision

The present paper proposes the strategy for a robotic hand to catch a free-flying object with a high manipulability grasp configuration. Several researchers have succeeded in catching the free-frying object by the robotic hand. However, these researches focus on only the catching and do not discuss the grasp configuration after the catching. It is important to consider not only the stable catching but also the following manipulation after the catching as seen in a juggling and a baton twirling. We propose the strategy that enables the robotic hand to catch the object with a high manipulability grasp configuration and verify the proposed strategy experimentally by using the newly developed three-fingered hand.