Constructing force-closure grasps

This paper presents fast and simple algorithms for directly constructing force-closure grasps based on the shape of the grasped object. The synthesis of force-closure grasps finds independent regions of contact for the fingertips, such that the motion of the grasped object is totally constrained. A forceclosure grasp implies equilibrium grasps exist. In the reverse direction, we show that most nonmarginal equilibrium grasps are force-closure grasps. This paper describes research done while the author was at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.