An anthropomorphic robotic hand was developed with 23 degree of freedom (DOF) and dexterity to meet the
requirements for typing on a standard keyboard. The design was inspired by human hand physiology and consists of 19
servo motors that drive tendons which run from the forearm to the hand. Antagonistic torsional springs and a 4-bar
mechanism was used to decrease the number of actuators while maintaining human-like dexterity. The high dexterity
also allows other complex tasks such as grasping and object manipulation. In order to achieving complete resemblance
to the human hand, servo motors should be replaced with smart actuators that offer advantages in terms of energy
density, power consumption, mechanical deformation, response time and noise. This paper will review the advantages
and disadvantages of traditional servo motors with respect to commonly studied electro-active polymer based actuators
and how they can affect the performance and appearance of humanoid hand.
Artificial skin materials were synthesized using platinum-cured silicone elastomeric material (Reynolds Advanced
Materials Inc.) as the base consisting of mainly polyorganosiloxanes, amorphous silica and platinum-siloxane complex
compounds. Systematic incorporation of porosity in this material was found to lower the force required to deform the
skin in axial direction. In this study, we utilized foaming agents comprising of sodium bicarbonate and dilute form of
acetic acid for modifying the polymeric chain and introducing the porosity. Experimental determination of functional
relationship between the concentration of foaming agent, slacker and non-reactive silicone fluid and that of force -
deformation behavior was conducted. Tensile testing of material showed a local parabolic relationship between the
concentrations of foaming agents used (per milliliter of siloxane compound) and strain. This data can be used to optimize
the amount of additives in platinum cured silicone to obtain desired force - displacement characteristics. Addition of
"silicone thinner" and "slacker" showed a monotonically increasing strain behavior. A mathematical model was
developed to arrive at the performance metrics of artificial skin.
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