Analysis of manipulability for a robotic hand using statistical approach

Abstract The manipulability of any robotic mechanism is an important parameter for determining its quality index for a given set of configurations. Multi-finger robotic hands are desired to replicate the hands of human in terms of performance and therefore must possess the ability to be highly manipulable in nature. Manipulability is a measure that identifies the closeness of a manipulator towards singularity. The identification of different sets of joint parameters is presented that minimize the incidence of singularities for the finger of the robotic hand. In the present work, the range of different sets of finger joint angles of the tendon actuated robotic hand having four-fingers has been determined using response surface methodology to maximize the manipulability. From the results, it has been perceived that the proposed methodology is significant in improving the manipulability. The proposed approach for maximizing the manipulability is suitable for any robotic manipulator while considering the joint limits and the length of the phalanges.