01929nas a2200205 4500008003900000245012300039210006900162260003900231300001600270520124500286653001201531653001301543100001401556700001801570700002001588700001501608700001701623700001501640856006801655 2016 d00aSoftHand Pro-D: Matching Dynamic Content of Natural User Commands with Hand Embodiment for Enhanced Prosthesis Control0 aSoftHand ProD Matching Dynamic Content of Natural User Commands  aStockholm, Sweden, May 16-21bIEEE a3516 - 35233 a

State of the art of hand prosthetics is divided between simple and reliable gripper-like systems and sophisticate hi-tech poly-articular hands which tend to be complex both in their design and for the patient to operate. In this paper, we introduce the idea of decoding different movement intentions of the patient using the dynamic frequency content of the control signals in a natural way. We move a step further showing how this idea can be embedded in the mechanics of an underactuated soft hand by using only passive damping components.

In particular we devise a method to design the hand hardware to obtain a given desired motion. This method, that we call of the dynamic synergies, builds on the theory of linear descriptor systems, and is based on the division of the hand movement in a slow and a fast components. We use this method to evolve the design of the Pisa/IIT SoftHand in a prototype prosthesis which, while still having 19 degrees of freedom and just one motor, can move along two different synergistic directions of motion (and combinations of the two), to perform either a pinch or a power grasp. Preliminary experimental results are presented, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed design

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aPiazza, C1 aDella Santina1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aGrioli, G.1 aGarabini, M.1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=748753202519nas a2200229 4500008003900000245002900039210002900068260003600097300001400133520187600147653001202023653001302035100001502048700001602063700001402079700002002093700001502113700001702128700001702145700001502162856011202177 2014 d00aGrasping with Soft Hands0 aGrasping with Soft Hands aMadrid, Spain, November 18 - 20 a581 - 5873 a

Despite some prematurely optimistic claims, the ability of robots to grasp general objects in unstructured environments still remains far behind that of humans. This is not solely caused by differences in the mechanics of hands: indeed, we show that human use of a simple robot hand (the Pisa/IIT SoftHand) can afford capabilities that are comparable to natural grasping. It is through the observation of such human-directed robot hand operations that we realized how fundamental in everyday grasping and manipulation is the role of hand compliance, which is used to adapt to the shape of surrounding objects. Objects and environmental constraints are in turn used to functionally shape the hand, going beyond its nominal kinematic limits by exploiting structural softness. In this paper, we set out to study grasp planning for hands that are simple — in the sense of low number of actuated degrees of freedom (one for the Pisa/IIT SoftHand) — but are soft, i.e. continuously deformable in an infinity of possible shapes through interaction with objects. After general considerations on the change of paradigm in grasp planning that this setting brings about with respect to classical rigid multi-dof grasp planning, we present a procedure to extract grasp affordances for the Pisa/IIT SoftHand through physically accurate numerical simulations. The selected grasps are then successfully tested in an experimental scenario.

10aHaptics10aRobotics1 aBonilla, M1 aFarnioli, E1 aPiazza, C1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aGrioli, G.1 aGarabini, M.1 aGabiccini, M1 aBicchi, A. uhttp://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?tp=&arnumber=7041421&queryText%3DGrasping+with+Soft+Hands00582nas a2200193 4500008004100000245009500041210006900136300001600205653001200221653001300233100001500246700001500261700002000276700001700296700001400313700001500327700001500342856003100357 2013 eng d00aImplementation and Control of the Velvet Fingers: a Dexterous Gripper with Active Surfaces0 aImplementation and Control of the Velvet Fingers a Dexterous Gri a2744 - 275010aHaptics10aRobotics1 aTincani, V1 aGrioli, G.1 aCatalano, M. G.1 aGarabini, M.1 aGrechi, S1 aFantoni, G1 aBicchi, A. u10.1109/ICRA.2013.6630955