A qualitative test for N-finger force-closure grasps on planar objects with applications to manipulation and finger gaits

A force-closure test function for an n-finger grasp on a planar object with friction is presented. All n-finger grasps can be represented by an n-dimensional contact space. The critical conditions of the test functions are used to define force-closure curves which are the boundaries of force-closure sets in the contact configuration space. It is shown that the force-closure sets can be decomposed into subsets in which m (m>