Stabilizing effects of internal stiffness for slight sliding at contact points

The small sliding at contact points of fingertips is investigated in this paper. The grasp stabilization method with internal stiffness is proposed and its stabilizing effect is demonstrated for the planar three-fingered hand. The grasp stabilizing conditions for the internal stiffness are determined and the optimal grasp in contrast to the conventional point of view is discussed. Finally, the stabilizing effects using the internal stiffness are illustrated by numerical examples.