Adaptive In-Hand Manipulation: Design of a Contact-Aware Modular Robot Finger with Active Surfaces

Abstract

Robot in-hand manipulation is vital for dexterity, but it presents key challenges to stably manipulate objects with varying sizes and shapes while perceiving real-time contact states. Dexterous hands offer precision but are complex and expensive, whereas underactuated hands are simple but lack active dexterity and real-time feedback capabilities. To address these limitations, this paper presents a modular adaptive robot finger with contactawareness for manipulation. This design capitalizes on the passive compliance of the underactuated structure and the active surface to ensure stable grasping and reliable in-hand manipulation. Furthermore, incorporating a flexible sensor between the underactuated structure and the active surface achieves real-time perception of the contact process. Based on modeling, finite element analysis, and experimental characterization, a grasping and manipulation strategy is proposed. The experimental results show that the design ensures safe grasping of fragile objects and enables stable in-hand manipulation. This paper provides a methodology for advancing intelligent manipulation.