Elastic systems and quasistatic grasp stability

The geometric approach to the quasistatic analysis of elastic systems of rigid bodies can be used to model a wide variety of situations. The modular dextrous hand is used as a model to explain the difference between elastic systems and elastic networks, define and compute the stiffness of the elastic system, and show how holonomic constraints can be handled in this framework. Geometry of the space of all elastic systems with holonomic constraints is described by the Lagrangian planes in the displacement-force space. It is shown how coordinates can be chosen to simplify the interpretation of the stiffness and compliance matrices. Quasistatic grasp stability is analyzed by an application of the Lagrange-Dirichlet principle.