The initial design and manufacturing process of a low cost hand for the robot iCub

Abstract

This paper describes the design of a new hand for the robot iCub. Developed as part of the European project RobotCub the iCub is a robot baby based on an 18 month to 2.5 year old child. The current iCub hands are under-actuated which means they are not as dexterous as a true childpsilas hand. The hand designed in this work has a total of 22 degrees of freedom of which 18 are independently drivable. In order to minimise weight and cost the hand has been produced from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) using 3D printing techniques. This removes the need for extensive machining which would add significantly to the overall cost of the hand. A prototype finger has been produced and tested and a full mechanical design is presented.