A Biomimetic impedance controller for Robotic Hand Variable Stiffness Grasping

Abstract

The accuracy of human hand grasp is due to many reasons, e.g. the feedbacks of force, temperature, pressure, and position, etc. It is impossible to mimic this complicated system for a robotic hand. Therefore, simplification of the robotic control system with relative accurate operations is necessary. In this study, a biomimetic impedance controller was utilized on a robotic hand, where the control parameters were based on a biomechanical model of the human hand. The relationship between the grasp force and surface electromyography (sEMG) was measured, and the impedance of the joint was calculated through a series of dynamic vibration tests subsequently. The effectiveness of the biomimetic impedance controller is verified through human operating the robotic hand reproducing a variety of grasping tasks.