This paper introduces the i-HY Hand, an underactuated hand driven by 5 actuators that is capable of performing a wide range of grasping and in-hand manipulation tasks. This hand was designed to address the need for a durable, inexpensive, moderately dexterous hand suitable for use on mobile robots. The primary focus of this paper will be on the novel minimalistic design of i-HY, which was developed by choosing a set of target tasks around which the design of the hand was optimized. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of underactuated fingers that are capable of both firm power grasps and lowstiffness fingertip grasps using only the passive mechanics of the finger mechanism. Experimental results demonstrate successful grasping of a wide range of target objects, the stability of fingertip grasping, as well as the ability to adjust the force exerted on grasped objects using the passive finger mechanics.

Abstract-This paper presents a new approach to the construction of tactile array sensors based on barometric pressure sensor chips and standard printed circuit boards. The chips include tightly integrated instrumentation amplifiers, analog-todigital converters, pressure and temperature sensors, and control circuitry that provides excellent signal quality over standard digital bus interfaces. The resulting array electronics can be easily encapsulated with soft polymers to provide robust and compliant grasping surfaces for specific hand designs. The use of standard commercial-off-the-shelf technologies means that only basic electrical and mechanical skills are required to build effective tactile sensors for new applications. Performance evaluation of prototype arrays demonstrate excellent linearity (<1% typical) and low noise (<0.01 N). External addressing circuitry allows multiple sensors to communicate on the same bus at over 100 Hz per sensor element. Sensors can be mounted as close as 3x5 mm spacing, and spatial impulse response tests show that solid-mechanics based signal processing is feasible. This approach promises to make sensitive, robust, and inexpensive tactile sensing available for a wide range of robotics and humaninterface applications.

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Abstract-Many applications for tactile sensors require a flexible, stretchable array to allow installation on curved surfaces or to measure forces on deformable objects. This paper presents a sensor array created with barometers and flexible printed circuit boards that delivers high sensitivity on a flexible, stretchable package using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components: MEMS barometers and commercially-compatible flexible printed circuit boards. The array is demonstrated on the surface of a jamming gripper, where it provides the ability to sense grasping events and detect object shape.

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