This project – a precursor to hand design – explores the underlying mechanism of a lightweight, durable, high degree-of-freedom hand with remotized actuators. Finger and tendon testbeds will be developed, and candidate designs will be evaluated against a comprehensive set of both established (e.g., NIST) and novel (e.g., admittance, cycle life) benchmarks. Candidate finger, palm, and wrist designs will be developed and evaluated.

This project considers tendon routing and materials and designs for tendons, joints, and links, among other topics.