Computer architecture and low level control of the PUMA/RAL hand system: Work in progress

The RAL hand is a fifteen joint, four fingered hand, which can be easily attached to a commercial robot, in particular, a PUMA 560 industrial robot. A computer architecture which integrates both control of the RAL hand joints and PUMA arm is under development. The complete system will be able to perform operations requiring coordinated motions of the arm and hand. This paper describes the layout of the RAL hand, the computer architecture and interfaces to the manipulator, and the concept for low level control.