Dexhand: A Space qualified multi-fingered robotic hand

Abstract

Despite the progress since the first attempts of mankind to explore space, it appears that sending man in space remains challenging. While robotic systems are not yet ready to replace human presence, they provide an excellent support for astronauts during maintenance and hazardous tasks. This paper presents the development of a space qualified multi-fingered robotic hand and highlights the most interesting challenges. The design concept, the mechanical structure, the electronics architecture and the control system are presented throughout this overview paper.

Development of a low cost anthropomorphic robot hand with high capability

“…However, it is not easy to find a practical robot hand for these purposes. Most robot hands are not commercialized yet [15]∼ [17], or commercialized ones are so expensive and unsatisfactory in performance [11]∼ [14]. Actually, there are many limitations and difficulties in the development of a robot hand.…”

“…Especially, the hand plays a very important role in the object manipulation such as grasping, assembling, throwing, writing and so on. Many studies related on this hand have been carried out [1]∼ [10] in the theoretical point of view, and many kinds of multi-fingered robot hands have been developed for research, industrial manufacture, and private service [11]∼ [17]. However, it is not easy to find a practical robot hand for these purposes.…”

Robotics and AI-Enabled On-Orbit Operations With Future Generation of Small Satellites

“…It is considered the state of the art in dexterous manipulation [106]. DLR's Dexhand is another noteworthy effort in the development of a space qualified robotic hand [107], [108]. The testing of gecko-inspired grippers to grasp and manipulate large tumbling objects in microgravity represents another compelling innovation to tackle the large debris problem [109].…”

Kinematic Synthesis of Multi-Fingered Robotic Hands for Finite and Infinitesimal Tasks

“…where b is the number of branches or fingers, n c is the number of joints for a branch c, n is the total number of joints in the structure and S k i,c are the instantaneous axis of the joint i in the branch c for the frame k calculated by (4). A valid mechanism is said to be found when F(S, ∆ ∆ ∆θ θ θ ,θ θ θ ,θ θ θ ) = 0 0 0.…”

“…Some designs mimic the human hand and exhibit a high number of degrees of freedom, [1] and [15]; others are designed for specific applications [4] and may or not be anthropomorphic [5].…”