This paper describes the most significant design issues related with the development of an embedded FPGA-based control system for a human-like robotic hand. Specific features of the mechanical design of the system are discussed firstly, then a general approach to the problem of controlling the motion of the robotic device is provided. Finally a candidate distributed control architecture is presented.

The problem of grasping and manipulating rigid objects using a multifingered robotic system is dealt with. A hierarchical two-level closed-loop trajectory tracking control strategy is presented in order to achieve the manipulation task, together with a complimentary force control, for object grasping, which makes use of a formulation of grasping forces decomposition.

Presents the first prototype of the DIST-Hand dextrous gripper. DIST-Hand is a 4-fingered tendon driven device with 16 degrees of freedom, designed for experiments in the area of grasping control, and tele-manipulation. The current version of the gripper is lightweight and can be easily installed on the various existing robots. The paper outlines the kinematic and structural characteristics of the hand. Furthermore, some general methodological issues addressed during the design phase are discussed.

This paper presents the prototype of the DIST robotic hand developed at the Graal-Lab of the University of Genova. In the current version, the hand is formed by a palm supporting four fingers. Each finger has four rotational degrees of freedom, and is equipped with custom built position sensors using Hall-effect transducers. The actuation of each finger is done using six tendons driven by five computer controlled DC motors. A kinematic analysis has been performed using simulation tools, with the goal of building a mechanism with size and mobility similar to those of human hand.