Enveloping Grasp for Multiple Objects. Kinematics and Shovelling up Condition.

This paper discusses the enveloping grasp of multiple objects under rolling contacts. We first provide a general mathematical formulation on the kinematic relationship for multiple objects enveloped by a multi-fingered robot hand, and then derive a condition for judging whether the rolling condition can be satisfied at each contact point. We also show a sufficient condition for shovelling up two objects. Finally, an experimental result is shown to confirm how easily two cylindrical objects can be shovelled up by a simple grasping motion.