Abstract
In this paper, the mechanics of coordinative manipulation by multiple robot manipulators or a multi-fingered robot hand is discussed. The coordinative manipulation problem is divided into two phases. One is determining the resultant force by multiple robotic mechanisms, and the other is determining the inner force between them. The resultant force is used for the manipulation of an object subjected by external forces or environmental constraints. The inner force is used for adapting the mechanisms to uncertainty or variety of the maximum static friction coefficient. Dynamic coordinative control scheme is proposed for determining the resultant forces. A method is also proposed to verify the coordinative manipulation ability, that is, the ability for generating an arbitrary acceleration of the object under the constraints of the maximum static friction. Finally, the optimal inner force is defined as the minimal-norm inner force necessary for satisfying maximum static friction constraints, and a non-linear programing method is applied to obtain the optimal solution. The optimal solution is necessarily obtained by solving, at most, mΣj=1 jΣi=0 jCi sets of algebraic equations, as long as it exists.
