Dexterous manipulation through rolling

Nonholonomic constraints in robotic systems are the source of some difficulties in planning and control; however, they also introduce interesting properties that can be practically exploited. In this paper we consider the design of a robot hand that achieves dexterity (i.e. the ability to arbitrarily locate and reorient manipulated objects) through rolling. Some interesting issues arising in planning and controlling motions of such device are considered, including exact planning for a spherical object and approximate planning for general objects. An experimental prototype of a three-plus-one degree of freedom hand achieving dexterous manipulation capabilities is described along with experimental results from manipulation.