In many applications, the typical parallel-jaw end-effector of a robot arm has been remarkably satisfactory. But, it is not adequate for the applications such as complicated manipulation. Therefore, the developement of a hand with dexterity is necessary.
In this study, a finger with 4 joints (so, having redundancy) was constructed to investigate the characteristics of an articulated hand. Each joint was driven by one actuator, and the motor torque was transmitted to each joint through a tendon-pulley system. In the context, major considerations for hardware design and the method to solve the inverse kinematics of a redundant manipulator were presented. Finally, the basic capabilities of an articulated hand were presented through experiments.
