The goal of this application is to develop a miniature robot hand for endoscopic or laparoscopic medical procedures. A project is proposed to develop such a hand with fingers 2-6 mm in length controlled by a human operator. Specific work is needed in four areas: 1) design and construction of small, multijointed fingers, 2) integration of these fingers into a hand-like structure, 3) control of the hand's configuration and finger forces, and 4) implementation of a natural human operator interface. The small size required for each finger makes direct motor control of each rotary or prismatic joint impractical and favors a cable actuated design. A glove-like set of sensors attached to the human operator's hand supply electrical signals to a computer. The microcomputer converts from finger joint angles to the many cable force and displacement variables required. Minimally invasive surgical techniques are developing rapidly and will assume greater significance in the practice of diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. The technology to model and control such a miniature robot hand is relatively recent. The development of a remotely operated, miniature, hand-like instrument would be of great value.
