Robotic Dexterous Manipulation Via Anisotropic Friction Modulation Using Passive Rollers
Ethan Fisk, Taeyoon Lee, Shenli Yuan
AI summary
Problem
Controlling friction at robotic fingertips to enable seamless switching between firm grasping and controlled sliding remains challenging, limiting dexterous manipulation capabilities.
Approach
The authors designed a fingertip module with three passive rollers that can be independently pivoted and selectively braked to modulate contact friction and constraint directions, integrated into a parallel-jaw gripper.
Key results
- Achieved an order-of-magnitude friction contrast between braked and unbraked roller states
- Developed a constraint-based kinematic model linking roller orientation to object motion
- Demonstrated planar translation, cylindrical rotation, and robust adaptation to uncertain contacts
- Validated low-complexity, mechanically efficient friction modulation on a commercial parallel-jaw gripper
Why it matters
This mechanically efficient friction modulation strategy advances the development of adaptable, robust robotic hands capable of complex in-hand and environmental interactions.
Abstract
Controlling friction at the fingertip is fundamental to dexterous manipulation, yet remains difficult to realize in robotic hands. We present the design and analysis of a robotic fingertip equipped with passive rollers that can be selectively braked or pivoted to modulate contact friction and constraint directions. When unbraked, the rollers permit unconstrained sliding of the contact point along the rolling direction; when braked, they resist motion like a conventional fingertip. The rollers are mounted on a pivoting mechanism, allowing reorientation of the constraint frame to accommodate different manipulation tasks. We develop a constraint-based model of the fingertip integrated into a parallel-jaw gripper and analyze its ability to support diverse manipulation strategies. Experiments show that the proposed design enables a wide range of dexterous actions that are conventionally challenging for robotic grippers, including sliding and pivoting within the grasp, robust adaptation to uncertain contacts, multi-object or multi-part manipulation, and interactions requiring asymmetric friction across fingers. These results demonstrate the versatility of passive roller fingertips as a low-complexity, mechanically efficient approach to friction modulation, advancing the devel- opment of more adaptable and robust robotic manipulation.