Multi-aspect grasp index for robotic arms

In this paper, a new Multi-Aspect Grasp (MAG) performance index is presented for evaluating grasp quality during an object manipulation task. The position of grasp points, the configuration of cooperative manipulators, and the kinetic aspects of manipulating arms and the grasped object are considered in the MAG index. The MAG index is used to evaluate the candidate points to choose the best grasp point and to select the most effective branch of the inverse kinematics solution, with respect to the given task. Simulation results, which are validated with analytical solutions, show the merits of the proposed index. According to these results, the MAG index indicates that in planar object manipulation tasks without rotation, the best grasp point is the object center of the mass, which is physically meaningful.