To supplement the need for a sophisticated robotic test-bed used in ongoing and future research, this proposal requests funding for a Barrett Robot-Hand System. This robot allows a researcher to directly access and modify the sinusolidally commutated current amplifiers; hence, its open control architecture facilitates the design and development of advanced low-level position/force controllers for multiple degree of freedom robotic systems. More importantly, the multiple degrees of freedom and the end-effector mounted hand allow one to focus on specific dexterous manipulation problems. In addition, the requested system with its advanced, high-speed cable transmission system (peak velocity of 6 m/s and peak acceleration of 6 g's at the end-effector) facilitates high-speed manipulation.
