Task oriented optimal grasping by multifingered robot hands

We discuss the problem of optimal grasping to an object by a multifingered robot hand. We axiomatize using screw theory and elementary differential geometry the concept of a grasp and characterize its stability. Three quality measures for evaluating a grasp are then proposed. The last quality measure is task oriented and needs the development of a procedure for modeling tasks as ellipsoids in the wrench space of the object. Numerical computations of these quality measures and the selection of an optimal grasp are addressed in detail. Several examples are given using these quality measures to show that they are consistent with human grasping experience.