Grasping and manipulation by arm/multifingered-hand mechanisms

A control scheme for grasping and manipulation by arm-hand mechanisms is proposed. The arm-hand mechanisms, consisting of arm and multifingered hand have the same feature as that of redundant macro-micro manipulators concerning manipulation. That is: (1) manipulations are possible by both the arms and hands, (2) the hands are suitable for the compliant motions compared to the arms because of their small inertia, and the motion ranges of the arms are bigger than those of the hands. The control scheme can utilize both merits of the arms and hands. Simultaneously, it can realize the secure grasping during manipulations. Several simulation and experimental results illustrate the validity of the proposed control scheme.