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Abstract-The paper describes work in progress at the University of Bologna concerning the design of a new anthropomorphic robot hand. The hand is based on the modular assembly of articulated fingers that adopt an original configuration of their structure, made with rigid links connected by elastic hinges that are coaxially crossed by flexible tendons. This innovative design is suitable to host distributed sensory equipment and continuous compliant cover, allowing a high level of anthropomorphism together with great structural simplification, reliability enhancement and cost reduction. Furthermore, the proposed solution is very flexible, as it can be adapted to many different hand configurations and is not dependent on a particular type of actuation, being compatible with future availability of any kind of artificial muscles.

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In this paper, the modeling and design for frictional loads applied by robotic fingertips through soft contact interface are investigated. The dependence of the sustainable friction forces and moments due to the normal load applied on the contact area is studied. A model that considers the dependence of both the contact area and the coefficient of friction on the application of normal load is proposed. Specimens of simplified fingertips, made with different materials and shaped with different thickness of the covering soft layer, are tested in order to validate the proposed model via designed experiments. The results obtained have very important relevance on the design of robotic hands and fingers equipped with soft pads or skins, and can help on the choice of suitable features for the different layers of contact pads or skins.

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