Design and Construction of a Robot Hand Prototype for Underwater Applications

This paper describes the design process and the construction stages of a multi-fingered robot hand prototype, named GUH14, to be used in underwater environment. The prototype was developed in collaboration by the University of Calabria and the University of Girona, with the goal of designing and building an underwater robotic hand that can be implemented on robot arms. This project is aimed to develop prototype solutions for grasping and manipulation operations in a submarine environment. The hand is composed by a palm and three independent fingers, each with three degrees of freedom (hereinafter, DoF), actuated by servomotors through hybrid transmission, tendons and gearing. The design and manufacturing procedures that allowed for the operation of the prototype will be discussed. This paper summarizes the obtained results.