Developing compatible grasp and fixture plans

Introduces a method for producing geometrically compatible grasp and fixture plans which minimize the closing force required of a gripper loading an object into a fixture and the closing force required of the fixture to keep the object stable during subsequent assembly operations. The authors formulate the problem for parallel-jaw tools by considering equilibrium equations with the gripper and fixture positions as unknown parameters. Algebraic constraints on the positions of the gripper and fixture ensure geometric compatibility. The resulting maximin problem is solved for a two and a three-dimensional example. Extensions of this formulation to other gripper geometries can easily be made.