High-Precision 6DOF Object Manipulation Using Redundant Parallel Drive Soft Fingers and Visual Feedback

Abstract

Grasping and manipulating variously shaped objects using a robotic hand is crucial for expanding the use of robots. In this paper, we describe secure grasping of objects and high-precision position/orientation control in three-dimensional space via a robotic hand with redundant parallel drive soft fingers. This soft robotic hand has eight pneumatically driven soft fingers, which achieve both a secure grasp and operation of the object at the same time. The position and orientation of the object are controlled using robust visual feedback control for high-precision object manipulation. The soft fingers were produced by a multi-material 3D printer that can simultaneously print both hard and soft materials. By using this robotic hand and visual feedback control, we were able to attain high - precision position/orientation (6DOF)manipulation of some objects with various shapes in three-dimensional space.