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The purpose of this paper is to present recent work designing a mechanical robotic hand for self‐adaptive grasping, human‐like appearance, which can be used in a humanoid robot. Conventional robotic devices are relatively complex, large, cumbersome and difficult to be installed in a humanoid robot arm. Under‐actuated robot hands use less motors to drive more rotating joints, thus to simplify the mechanical structure, decrease the volume and weight and finally lower the difficulty of control and the cost.

A novel under‐actuated finger mechanism is designed, which is based on a gear‐rack mechanism, spring constraint and an active sleeve middle phalanx. The principle analyses of its self‐adaptive grasp and end power grasping are given. A new multi‐fingered hand named as TH‐3R Hand is designed based on the finger.

The design finger mechanism can be used in a robotic hand to make the hand obtain more degrees of freedom (DOF) with fewer actuators, and good grasping function of shape adaptation, decrease the requirement of control system. TH‐3R Hand has five fingers, 15 DOF. All fingers are similar. TH‐3R Hand has many advantages: it is simple in structure, light in weight, easy to control and low in cost. TH‐3R Hand can passively adapt different shapes and sizes of the grasped object. Experimental studies have demonstrated the self‐adaptation in grasping of the finger.

The implication of this research is that under‐actuated robotic hands are appropriate for the missions of grasping different objects. The limitation of the research to date is that issues of sensors, control, and communication have not yet been addressed.

Key technologies of the under‐actuated finger and TH‐3R Hand, with self‐adaptive grasping, human‐like appearance and low‐cost lightweight, are feasible. These technologies have the potential to make a significant impact.

These results present a self‐adaptive under‐actuated grasp concept and a humanoid robotic hand with under‐actuated gear‐rack mechanism.

This paper aims to propose a novel hand to bridge the gap between the traditional rigid robot hands and the soft hands to obtain a better grasping performance.

The proposed hand consists of three fingers. Each finger has 15 degrees of freedom and three phalanxes, which can bend in one direction when load is applied, but they are rigid toward the opposite direction at the initial position. The grasping process and simulations of the fingers are discussed in this paper. Both kinematic and dynamics analyses are performed to predict the performance of the hand. Subsequently, a prototype of the hand is developed for experiments.

Both kinematics and dynamics analyses indicate good grasping performance of the hand. Simulations and experiments confirm the feasibility of the finger design. The hand can execute hybrid grasping modes with more uniform force distribution and a larger workspace than traditional rigid fingers. The proposed hand has much potential in the industrial sector.

A new method to obtain better grasping performance and to bridge the gap between the rigid finger and the soft finger has been presented and verified. The hand combines the advantages of both the rigid phalanxes and the soft fingers. Compared with some traditional rigid fingers, the proposed design has a more uniform force distribution and a bigger workspace.

When designing hardware and algorithms for robotic manipulation and grasping, sensory information is typically needed to control the grasping process. This paper presents an overview of the major grasping and manipulation approaches and the more common hardware used to obtain the necessary sensory information.

This paper presents an overview of tactile sensing in intelligent robotic manipulation. The history, the common issues, and applications are reviewed. Sensor performance is briefly discussed and compared to the human tactile sense. Advantages and disadvantages of the most common sensor approaches are discussed. Some examples are given of sensors that are widely available as of today. Eventually, some examples of the state‐of‐the‐art in tactile sensing application are presented.

Although many sensor technologies and strong theoretical models have been developed, there is still much left to be done in intelligent grasping and manipulation. This is partly due to the youth of the field and the complex nature of safe control in uncertain environments. Even though there are impressive results when it comes to specific examples of advanced manipulation, there seems to be room for great improvements of hardware and especially algorithms when it comes to more generic everyday domestic tasks.

This paper presents a review of sensor hardware while also giving a glimpse of the major topics in grasping and manipulation. While better hardware of course is desirable, the major challenges seem to lie in the development and application of grasping and manipulation algorithms.

This paper aims to describe the design of a multi-degree of freedom (DOF) prosthetic hand prototype implementing postural synergy mechanically, which is actuated by two motors via a transmission unit, and is controlled using surface electromyography (sEMG) signal.

First, an anthropomorphic robotic hand is designed to imitate the human hand. The robotic hand has 18 DOF, 12 of which are actively driven by Bowden cables. Next, a set of different grasp modes are performed on a “full actuation” robotic hand, and principal component analysis (PCA) method is used to extract the first two postural synergies. Then, they are used to design a differential pulley-based transmission unit using two independent inputs to drive 12 output tendons. Finally, two control signals extracted from six channels of sEMG signals are used to proportionally control the two motors for achieving hand posture synthesis.

Using a differential pulley-based mechanical transmission unit to implement the synthesis of the first two postural synergies can make the prosthetic hand achieve different grasps by two motors, such as power, precision and lateral grasps. It is also feasible to control this “two actuation” prosthetic hand by relating the two-dimensional sEMG inputs with the first two postural synergies.

Mechanical implantation of postural synergies reduces the number of independent actuators without sacrificing the prosthetic hand’s versatility and simplifies its controller. Two-dimensional control extracted from sEMG is mapped into the combination coefficients of postural synergy synthesis. It shows potential application in the practical prosthetic hand.

This paper aims to design a novel jaw gripper with human-sized anthropomorphic features to be suitable for precise in-hand posture transitions, such as twisting and re-positioning. The growing demand from traditional high-mix low-volume and new massive customized manufacturing industry requires the robot with configurability and flexibility. In the electronic manufacturing industry particularly, the design of the robotic hand with sufficient dexterity and configuration is important for the robot to accomplish the assembly task reliably and robustly. It is important for the robot to be able to grasp and manipulate a large number of assembly parts or tools.

In this research, a novel jaw-like gripper with human-sized anthropomorphic features is designed for online in-hand precise positioning and twisting. It retains the simplicity feature of traditional industrial grippers and dexterity features of dexterous robotic hands.

The gripper is able to apply suitable gripping force on assembly parts and performs reliable twisting movement within limited time to meet the industrial requirements. Manipulating several cylindrical assembly parts by robot, as an experimental case in this paper, is studied to evaluate its performance. The effectiveness of proposed gripper design and mechanical analysis is proved by the simulation and experimental results.

The main originality of this research is that a novel jaw gripper with human-sized anthropomorphic features is designed to be suitable for precise in-hand posture transitions, such as twisting and re-positioning. With this gripper, the robotic system will be sufficiently flexible to deal with various assembly tasks.

This chapter investigates the need to focus on the gap between the pure quantification of the body, expressed by robotic implants, and recent research aiming to recover qualitative aspects of touch, such as sensation. The solution proposed is to analyse new implant technologies with a stereoscopic vision that is able to consider sensation both as intensity of neural signals and as something that we feel. The central question is: what is the value of introducing qualitative analysis into typically quantified robotics research, governed by data?

This paper attempts to critically question present IPE approaches and analyses that aim at assessing China’s role within the international political economy. Thus, unlike common theorizations that see the country as being integrated within US hegemony (Panitch and Gindin) or those accounts that claim that we are already witnessing the “terminal crisis” of US hegemony accompanied by a hegemonic transition toward China (Arrighi), the paper will argue that China was able to gain “relative geopolitical autonomy” as a result of the revolutionary processes it went through and eventually assert itself as a contender state, now just in the process of challenging US hegemony. Dissatisfied with existent theorizations of hegemony, I will be drawing on the critical edition of Gramsci’s Quaderni and attempt to offer a new perspective regarding the conceptualization thereof. Thus applying the elaborated framework of analysis to the current situation, I argue that unlike the US’s ability to counter the challenge of its traditional imperial rivals Germany and Japan as they developed under the grip of US hegemony, the country is facing difficulties in countering China’s ascent. However, while maintaining that China does indeed represent a challenge to US hegemony, particularly in East Asia, I will argue that the idea of a “crisis of US hegemony” is premature as China remains distant from fully realizing hegemonic relations, even at the regional level.

While the much‐maligned saying, “Business as usual,” has its imperative and very necessary application to the upholding of our commerce and financial position during the war, one is inclined to ask those patriots who day in and day out decry the loyalty of thousands who are carrying a double and sometimes even a treble burden to keep business going, what is to be done if the country is exhausted by the drying up of her resources, and the ruin of her industries, we cannot but feel that the time has come for all of us to put to ourselves the enquiry as to where our own duty lies? Many who have not the physical fitness or strength for the actual fighting line might yet, we believe, find room in the direct service of the State. We have a splendid list of men who, greatly loving home and honour, have sacrificed position and given themselves for service abroad. Are there not others who are great enough to follow in their train? The large places may be already filled, but the strain on the country intensifies month by month, and we can only come to full self‐realisation as the very thought of self is slain, and the splendid spirit in the line, “Who dies if England lives?” enters into our own hearts.

The paper aims to propose a novel dual-stage shape memory alloy (SMA) actuated gripper (DAG), of which the grasp performance is improved through primary and secondary actuation.

This paper presents a method of integrating the design of dual-stage actuation modules based on the SMA bias actuation principle to enhance the grasping shape adaptability and force modulation of a DAG. The actuation angle range and grasping performance of the DAG are investigated by thermomechanical analysis and the finite element method based numerical simulation.

The results of present experiments and simulations indicate that the actuation angle scope of the DAG is about 20° under no load, which enables the grasping space occupied by an object in the DAG from 60 mm to 120 mm. The grasping force adjusted by changing the input power of the primary main actuation module and secondary fine-tuning actuation module can reach a maximum of 2 N, which is capable of grasping objects of various sizes, weights, shapes, etc.

The contribution of this paper is to design a DAG based on SMA, and establish the solution methods for the primary main actuation module and secondary fine-tuning actuation module, respectively. It lays a foundation for the research of lightweight and intelligent robotic grippers.

This paper aims to present the design and experiment of a modular multisensory prosthetic hand for applications. Design and experiment of a modular multisensory hand for prosthetic applications.

This paper reveals more details focusing on the appearance, mechanism design, electrical design and control of the prosthetic hand considering anthropomorphism, dexterity, sensing and controllability. The finger is internally integrated with the actuator, the transmission mechanism, the sensors and the controller as a modular unit. Integrated with multiple sensors, the prosthetic hand can not only perceive the position, the contact force and the temperature of the environment like a human hand but also provide the foundation for the practical control.

The experiments show that the prosthetic hand can accurately control the contact force to achieve stable grasps based on the sensors feedback and a simple and effective force-tracking impedance control algorithm. In addition, the experiments based on the cosmesis validate not only the cosmesis functionality but also the control performance for a prosthesis–cosmesis system.

Because of the small size, low weight, high integration, modularity and controllability, the prosthetic hand is easily applied to upper-limb amputees. Meanwhile, the finger as a modular unit is easy to be fixed, maintained and applied to a partial upper-limb amputee.

Each modular finger of the prosthetic hand integrated with the actuator, the transmission mechanism, the sensors and the controller as a whole can independently control the position and the force. The cosmetic glove design can provide pretty appearance without compromising the control performance.