Effects of Shape and Contact Location Uncertainty on Grasp Quality

Abstract

This paper addresses a new approach to the problem of selecting contact locations for grasping in the presence of shape and contact location uncertainty. Focusing on two-dimensional planar objects and two-finger grasps for simplicity, we present a principled approach for selecting contact points by minimizing the risk of force-closure failure. The key contribution of the paper is the risk measure defined on grasp plans. The risk measure successfully distinguishes grasps that are equivalent without uncertainty, and we illustrate the properties of the measure with simulation experiments in two classes of objects.