An Underactuated Linkage Finger Mechanism for Hand Prostheses

The underactuated fingers used in numerous robotic systems are evaluated by grasping force, configuration space, actuation method, precision of operation, compactness and weight. In consideration of all such factors a novel linkage based underactuated finger with a self-adaptive actuation mechanism is proposed to be used in prosthetics hands, where the finger can accomplish flexion and extension. Notably, the proposed mechanism can be characterized as a combination of parallel and series links. The mobility of the system has been analyzed according to the Chebychev-Grübler-Kutzbach criterion for a planar mechanism. With the intention of verifying the effectiveness of the mechanism, kinematics analysis has been carried out, by means of the geometric representation and Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) parameter approach. The presented two-step analysis followed by a numerical study, eliminates the limitations of the D-H conversion method to analyze the robotics systems with both series and parallel links. In addition, the trajectories and configuration space of the proposed finger mechanism have been determined by the motion simulations. A prototype of the proposed finger mechanism has been fabricated using 3D printing and it has been experimentally tested to validate its functionality. The kinematic analysis, motion simulations, experimental investigations and finite element analysis have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism to gain the expected motions.