Design, modeling and kinematic analysis of a multi-configuration dexterous hand with integrated high-dimensional sensors

Purpose This study aims to introduce a multi-configuration, three-finger dexterous hand with integrated high-dimensional sensors and provides an analysis of its design, modeling and kinematics. Design/methodology/approach A mechanical design scheme of the three-finger dexterous hand with a reconfigurable palm is proposed based on the existing research on dexterous hands. The reconfigurable palm design enables the dexterous hand to achieve four grasping modes to adapt to multiple grasping tasks. To further enhance perception, two six-axis force and torque sensors are integrated into each finger. The forward and inverse kinematics equations of the dexterous hand are derived using the D-H method for kinematics modeling, thus providing a theoretical model for index analysis. The performance is evaluated using three widely applied indicators: workspace, interactivity of fingers and manipulability. Findings The results of kinematics analysis show that the proposed hand has excellent dexterity. Additionally, three different experiments are conducted based on the proposed hand. The performance of the dexterous hand is also verified by fingertip force, motion accuracy test, grasping and in-hand manipulation experiments based on Feix taxonomy. The results show that the dexterous hand has good grasping ability, reproducing 82% of the natural movement of the human hand in daily grasping activities and achieving in-hand manipulations such as translation and rotation. Originality/value A novel three-finger dexterous hand with multi-configuration and integrated high-dimensional sensors is proposed. It performs better than the previously designed dexterous hand in actual experiments and kinematic performance analysis.