Design and Experiments of a Three-Fingered Dexterous Hand Based on Biomechanical Characteristics of Human Hand Synergies

Hand synergy from neuroscience provides an effective tool for anthropomorphic hands to realize versatile grasping with simple planning and control. This article aims to extend the synergy-inspired design from anthropomorphic hands to general multifingered robot hands by reconstructing mechanically the crucial biomechanical characteristics of hand synergy. The synergy-inspired hands are not necessarily humanoid in morphology but perform primary functions like the human hand. At first, the biomechanics of hand synergy is investigated by combining human hand synergies with the anatomy of the musculoskeletal system. Three biomechanical characteristics of the human hand synergy are explored as a basis for the mechanical simplification of robot hands. Second, based on the three synergy characteristics, a design method of robotic hands is proposed. A three-fingered hand is designed, and some typical grasping and in-hand manipulation functions are analyzed. Finally, a prototype is developed, and experiments of grasping and in-hand manipulation are carried out to validate the effectiveness of the design method.