An Introduction to the Analysis of Linkage-Driven Compliant Underactuated Fingers Available to Purchase

This paper presents an analysis of a two-phalanx linkage-driven underactuated finger with substantial compliance in all the joints of the system. The primary goal of the paper is to illustrate with an example, the theoretical issues faced in designing compliant underactuated fingers. To this aim, a two-phalanx linkage-driven underactuated finger is analyzed throughout the paper to clarify the concepts presented. First, a method to compute the contact forces generated by compliant underactuated fingers is presented and discussed. Finally, the self-mobility of the finger is discussed and a method to predict if this mobility will converge to a stable grasp or not is presented. The paper presents an exemplified theoretical analysis whose layout provides very useful insights for the design of compliant underactuated fingers and emphasizes the challenges to be met in order to design successful prototypes.