Mechanical Design and Forward Kinematics Analysis of T-FLoW 3.0 Prosthetic Robot Hand: Lever-based Finger Movement Mechanism

In this research, a prosthetic robot hand that features a lever-based finger movement mechanism is proposed as the new approach to the T-FLoW 3.0 humanoid robot’s hand development. The proposed approach performs both grasping and releasing movements by pushing or pulling the finger-attached lever. The lever is pushed or pulled by micro-servo, which uses a stiff bar to transfer the force from the servo-horn to the finger’s lever. Our prosthetic robot hand is equipped with six joints, six SG92R micro-servos as actuators, and six force-sensitive resistors (FSR) as grasping feedback. 3D printing manufacturing technology is utilized to give the hand a realistic appearance, and PLA filament material is used in the manufacturing process to provide low-cost, lightweight, and easy maintenance. Static structural analysis simulation result lead to the conclusion that our prosthetic robot hand could sustain a load of around 30N. With the lever-based finger movement mechanism, the proposed approach is expected to overcome the mechanical slip issues from finger movements, which are often experienced in the old approach of the T-FLoW 3.0 humanoid robot’s hand development.