The UTAH/M.I.T. Dextrous Hand: Work in Progress

The Center for Biomedical Design at the University of Utah and the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachu setts Institute of Technology are developing a tendon-oper ated multiple-degree-of-freedom dextrous hand (DH) with multichannel touch-sensing capability. Our goal is the design and fabrication of a high-performance yet well-behaved sys tem that is fast and stable and that includes considerable operational flexibility as a research tool. The paper reviews progress to date on project subtasks and discusses design issues important to hardware and control systems develop ment in terms of (1) structures that contain tendons, actua tors, joints, and sensors; (2) both pneumatic and electric tendon actuation systems; (3) optically based sensors that detect touch; (4) subcontrol systems that provide internal management of the DH; and (5) preliminary higher control systems that supervise general operation of the hand during execution of tasks and that provide integration of vision and tactile information.