A REVIEW AND CLASSIFIACATION OF ROBOTIC HANDS FOCUSED ON PALM STRUCTURE

A traditional approach for the design of robotic hands is based on a rigid palm and fingers flexion/extension motion, giving in general limited grasping, manipulation, and dexterity. In addition, some designs consider the motion of the palm, to improve the hand capabilities. In this context, this article presents a summary of different robotic hands, focusing on the analysis of dexterity and anthropomorphism, referring to finger kinematics, contact surfaces, size, and palm design. Moreover, a classification is proposed with five categories according to the palm structure. In each category is given a description that includes parameters like degrees of freedom (DOF), number of actuators, motion mechanisms, forces, velocities, and grasping capabilities. The presented robotic hands are evaluated in terms of the anthropomorphism and dexterity indexes, complementing the analysis with the palm structure criteria.