Adam’s Hand: An Underactuated Robotic End-Effector

This paper describes recent efforts by the authors in the development of a robotic hand, referred to as the Adam’s hand. The end-effector is underactuated through a multiple bevel-gear differential system that is used to operate all five fingers, resulting in 15 degrees of freedom actuated by just 1 degree of actuation. Special focus is devoted to the transmission ratios and gear dimensions of the system to maintain the kinematic behaviour and the dimensions of the prototype as close as possible to that of human hand.