<title>Implementation of simulated human grasping for manufacturing tasks</title>

Abstract

We describe an implementation of the simulation of human grasping for manufacturing tasks using a realistic human figure with a high-level behavioral control interface. Grasping simulations can then inform the manufacturer as to requirements on human grasping in manufacturing environments. We further describe the integration of a reach planner with grasping to provide simulation of reaching and grasping tasks. The simulation of human grasping proceeds from work in cognitive science, psychology, and robotics, in which human grasping is described as a primarily tactile activity. Information about target geometry is derived from contact with the object to be grasped, and the simulation is driven by this collision information. Reaching and grasping have been integrated to provide more automated control of the simulation of grasping. A motion planning approach controls human arm movement: given a position in 3D space, the reaching algorithm automatically computes a collision-free and strength-feasible motion sequence to move the hand to the desired position. If a tool is held in the hand, the collision of the tool with the environment can also be avoided.