From robotic hands to human hands: a visualization and simulation engine for grasping research

Robotic hands are still a long way from matching the grasping and manipulation capability of their human counterparts. One way to push the research further along is to use computer modeling and simulation to learn more about human and robotic grasping. We have created a publicly available simulator to serve this purpose. It can accommodate a wide variety of hand designs, and it can evaluate grasps formed by these hands, as well as perform full dynamic simulation of the grasping process. In this paper, we present the various components of the system, and we describe two projects which use it as an integral part of larger grasp planning systems. We also discuss the development of a human hand model that uses accurate geometry and kinematics derived from experimental measurements. This is part of our current project to create a biomechanically realistic human hand model to better understand what features are most important to mimic in the designs of robotic