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Underactuated hands usually have high adaptability in power grasping but they are limited in pinching task with fingertip. In this paper, we propose the design of a tendon-driven underactuated hand that is capable of fingertip pinching by utilizing our proposed coupling mechanism. To reduce the friction resulting from tendon routing, we introduce the carpal tunnel mechanism that replace all slidingcontact tendon routing with the pulley system allocated in 3-dimensional space. The prototype of 11-DOF anthropomorphic robot hand is fabricated using rapid prototyping. Experiments are done to prove the effectiveness of our proposed coupling mechanism and low-friction tendon-driven system for underactuated robot hand.

When robots cooperate with humans it is necessary for robots to move safely on sudden impact. Joint torque sensing is vital for robots to realize safe behavior and enhance physical performance. Firstly, this paper describes a new torque sensor with linear encoders which demonstrates electro magnetic noise immunity and is unaffected temperature changes. Secondly, we propose a friction compensation method using a disturbance observer to improve the positioning accuracy. In addition, we describe a torque feedback control method which scales down the motor inertia and enhances the joint flexibility. Experimental results of the proposed controller are presented.