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Human and Robot Hands - Sensorimotor Synergies to Bridge the Gap Between Neuroscience and Robotics

TitleHuman and Robot Hands - Sensorimotor Synergies to Bridge the Gap Between Neuroscience and Robotics
Publication TypeEdited volumes
Year of Publication2016
AuthorsBianchi, M, Moscatelli, A
Series TitleSpringer Series on Touch and Haptic Systems
PublisherSpringer
ISBN Number978-3-319-26706-7
KeywordsHaptics, Robotics
Abstract

This book looks at the common problems both human and robotic hands encounter when controlling the large number of joints, actuators and sensors required to efficiently perform motor tasks such as object exploration, manipulation and grasping. The authors adopt an integrated approach to explore the control of the hand based on sensorimotor synergies that can be applied in both neuroscience and robotics.  Hand synergies are based on goal-directed, combined muscle and kinematic activation leading to a reduction of the dimensionality of the motor and sensory space, presenting a highly effective solution for the fast and simplified design of artificial systems.

Presented in two parts, the first part, Neuroscience, provides the theoretical and experimental foundations to describe the synergistic organization of the human hand. The second part, Robotics, Models and Sensing Tools, exploits the framework of hand synergies to better control and design robotic hands and haptic/sensing systems/tools, using a reduced number of control inputs/sensors, with the goal of pushing their effectiveness close to the natural one.

Human and Robot Hands provides a valuable reference for students, researchers and designers who are interested in the study and design of the artificial hand.

URLhttp://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319267050

The Sense of Touch and its Rendering: Progresses in Haptics Research

TitleThe Sense of Touch and its Rendering: Progresses in Haptics Research
Publication TypeEdited volumes
Year of Publication2008
Series DirectorBicchi, A, Buss, M, Ernst, M, Peer, A
PublisherSpringer
CountryBerlin, Heidelberg
KeywordsHaptics, Robotics
Abstract

Preface: It is no coincidence that in many languages, deeply involving emotions and feelings are described as "touching". Touch appears indeed to be the most direct, less intellectually mediated sense. As such, it should be a fundamental ingredient of any system aimed at providing compelling sensations of remote presence. Generation of high-definition haptic feedback will be crucially important for driving a sense of Presence in next generation immersive VR and teleoperation systems. The perspective in which this book is conceived is that of understanding and enabling an experience of presence not limited to "being there", but extended to "being in touch" with the virtual or remote surroundings. Despite of numerous technological advances in this field it appears that the development of fully immersive haptic displays cannot proceed by technological innovations alone but requires a deep understanding and utilization of the psychophysical mechanisms of human haptic perception. On one hand, technological innovations are needed to increase the richness and accuracy of physically generated haptic stimuli. The generation of a one-to-one copy of the real world seems, however, to be unfeasible due to the inherent complexity of the necessary devices and stringent physiological and mechanical constraints. On the other hand, advances in the understanding of the information processing of the multidimensional sense of touch contribute to overcome these fundamental technological constraints. Limitations of the human perceptual system can be exploited to provide a realistic haptic sensation without getting all the physical parameters completely right. Perceptual limitations already helped in the design of advanced visual and auditory displays. This book summarizes main results of the TOUCH-HapSys research project financially supported by the 5th Framework IST Programme of the European Union. It provides an important contribution towards a new generation of high-fidelity haptic display technologies. The uniqueness of this book is its interdisciplinary approach highlighting the field of haptic research from a neuropsychological as well as a technological point of view. It provides readers with recent advances in the study of human haptic (kinesthetic, tactile, temperature) and mul-timodal (visual, auditory, haptic) perception mechanisms and with innovations in the field of haptic display technology. It shows that both lines of research are intimately connected, not only because biological sciences inspire and enable technology improvement, but also because novel devices offer new facilities for the experimental testing of psychophysical hypotheses. This book is structured in two parts: A. Fundamental Psychophysical and Neuropsychological Research and B. Technology and Applications. Chapters in part A. concentrate on the study of the basic mechanisms of touch, involving neurophysiology, psychophysics, and functional mappings in the brain. In-depth study of the psychophysiology of the sense of touch establishes connections between haptic fundamental perception and virtual-reality oriented technology. Part B. addresses new technologies to significantly improve haptic and multimodal feedback systems. These include novel actuator designs, software solutions for haptic rendering, and applications. The two parts are not however separated, and the many connections and synergies between the two complementary domains of research are highlighted in the text. Finally the editors would like to thank all the authors for their valuable contributions to this book. The quality and freshness found in each chapter are due to the excellent work carried out by the authors.