This paper proposes a dexterous nonprehensile manipulation using the vibration of a plate, in which a three-degree-of-freedom (DoF) motion of a part is controlled based on a single actuator. First, a manipulator whose end effector is a flat plate is introduced. The manipulator employs a hybrid joint mechanism with a viscoelasticity and a nonparallel axis layout. The characteristic of the mechanism is that the shape, orientation, and size of the vibrational orbit of the plate vary based on the sinusoidal displacement input to the actuator. Subsequently, the trajectories of multiple point masses on the plate are analyzed to understand the approximated three-DoF motion of a part. The simulation results reveal that the whirlpool-like characteristics of the trajectory map, which aid in the rotational and translational motions of the part, can be managed by the input frequency, offset angle, and amplitude of the sinusoidal displacement input. Based on the trajectory maps, nine primitives for manipulating the part are designed. Finally, the proposed manipulation scheme is experimentally validated using a prototype. After confirming the nine primitives in the experiment, applications to one-DoF, two-DoF, and three-DoF parts feeding tasks are demonstrated.

This paper proposes a nonprehensile manipulation scheme using the vibration of a plate, where a 3-DoF (degree of freedom) motion of a part is controlled using a single actuator. A manipulator is introduced, the end effector of which is a flat plate. The manipulator employs a hybrid joint mechanism with a twisted axis layout. The characteristic of this mechanism is that the shape of the trajectory of the plate can be varied three dimensionally based on the sinusoidal displacement input to the actuator. The behaviors of multiple point masses on the plate are then analyzed to understand the approximated 3-DoF motion of a part. The results of the simulation reveal that the whirlpool-like characteristics of the trajectory map, which aids in the rotational and translational motions of the part, can be governed. Based on the characteristics, five primitives for manipulating the part are defined and their arrangements for a 3-DoF parts feeding task are shown. Finally, the proposed approach is demonstrated via experiments.