An affordable linkage-and-tendon hybrid-driven anthropomorphic robotic hand – MCR-Hand II

This paper presents the design, analysis and development of an anthropomorphic robotic hand coined MCR-Hand II. This hand takes the advantages of both the tendon-driven and linkage-driven systems, leading to a compact mechanical structure that aims to imitate almost all the degrees of freedom of a human hand. Based on the investigation of human hand anatomical structure and related existing robotic hands, the mechanical design of the MCR-Hand II is presented. Using the D-H convention, kinematics of this hand are formulated and compared with numerical simulations, revealing the advantages of the introduction of the PL joint in this hand. Then, linkage based transmission and actuation are addressed, indicating the advantage of the integration of the tendon-driven and linkage-driven systems. Subsequently, prototypes of the proposed robotic hand is developed integrated with low-level control system. Further, empirical study of the proposed robotic hand is carried out which demonstrates that the proposed hands are capable of implementing the grasp and manipulation of most of the objects used in daily life. In addition, the three widely used tools, i.e. the Kapandji score test, Cutkosky taxonomy and Kamakura taxonomy, are used to evaluate the performance of the hand, which evidences that the MCR-Hand II possesses remarkable high dexterity and excellent grasping capability