EXTENDED TACTILE SENSING FOR DEXTROUS ROBOTIC HANDS

A NUMBER OF DEXTROUS ROBOTIC HANDS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR MANIPULATION RESEARCH AND SERVE AS PRECURSORS TO DEVICES PLANNED FOR UNSTRUCTURED ORBITAL ENVIRONMENTS. TYPICALLY THESE HANDS INCORPORATE POSITION AND TORQUE SENSING AT THE JOINTS BUT LACK ANY CUTANEOUS SENSE OF TOUCH. SINCE LOCALIZED CONTACT INFORMATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR PRECISE MANIPULATIONS, RESEARCHERS HAVE INVESTIGATED A VARIETY OF TACTILE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES, BUT NO SYSTEMS HAVE EMERGEDTHAT EMBODY THE GEOMETRY, RELIABILITY, OR SENSORY COVERAGE REQUIRED FOR A FULLY COMPREHENSIVE SENSE OF TOUCH. THE TARGET OF THIS PROJECT IS A COMPREHENSIVE, RELIABLE SENSE OFTOUCH FOR DEXTROUS HANDS. IT WILL FOCUS ON DEVELOPING A COMPLETE AND ROBUST SYSTEM RATHER THAN SIMPLY DEVISING A TRANSDUCER ARRAY. PHASE I WILL DELIVER A DETAILED DESIGN TONASA THAT WILL SERVE AS A BLUEPRINT FOR PHASE II CONSTRUCTION OF THE SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH THE SYSTEM WILL INITIALLY BE DESIGNED FOR THE UTAH/MIT DEXTROUS HAND, IT CAN BE ADAPTED TO OTHER HANDS IN LATER PHASES. A NUMBER OF DEXTROUS ROBOTIC HANDS HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED FOR MANIPULATION RESEARCH AND SERVE AS PRECURSORS TO DEVICES PLANNED FOR UNSTRUCTURED ORBITAL ENVIRONMENTS. TYPICALLY THESE HANDS INCORPORATE POSITION AND TORQUE SENSING AT THE JOINTS BUT LACK ANY CUTANEOUS SENSE OF TOUCH. SINCE LOCALIZED CONTACT INFORMATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR PRECISE MANIPULATIONS, RESEARCHERS HAVE INVESTIGATED A VARIETY OF TACTILE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES, BUT NO SYSTEMS HAVE EMERGEDTHAT EMBODY THE GEOMETRY, RELIABILITY, OR SENSORY COVERAGE REQUIRED FOR A FULLY COMPREHENSIVE SENSE OF TOUCH. THE TARGET OF THIS PROJECT IS A COMPREHENSIVE, RELIABLE SENSE OFTOUCH FOR DEXTROUS HANDS. IT WILL FOCUS ON DEVELOPING A COMPLETE AND ROBUST SYSTEM RATHER THAN SIMPLY DEVISING A TRANSDUCER ARRAY. PHASE I WILL DELIVER A DETAILED DESIGN TONASA THAT WILL SERVE AS A BLUEPRINT FOR PHASE II CONSTRUCTION OF THE SYSTEM. ALTHOUGH THE SYSTEM WILL INITIALLY BE DESIGNED FOR THE UTAH/MIT DEXTROUS HAND, IT CAN BE ADAPTED TO OTHER HANDS IN LATER PHASES.