TacDexGrasp: Compliant and Robust Dexterous Grasping with Tactile Feedback

2026-03-07

AI Summary

This work addresses the challenge of high-dimensional force control in stable grasping with multi-fingered dexterous hands when handling unknown objects. The authors propose a novel approach that achieves stable grasps without requiring explicit torque modeling or slip detection. By integrating tactile feedback with a second-order cone programming (SOCP) controller, the method enforces that the ratio of tangential to normal forces at each contact point remains below the friction coefficient, thereby simultaneously suppressing both translational and rotational slips. A key insight is that rotational slip inevitably induces local translational slip, allowing the tangential-to-normal force ratio to serve as an early indicator of grasp stability. Experimental validation on twelve diverse objects demonstrates the superior robustness and compliance of the proposed method in real-world grasping tasks.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Manipulation
• Computer Vision: Low Level & Physics-based Vision
• Natural Language Processing: Safety and Robustness

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Robustness and generalizability of Web mining methods
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Energy management for devices in mobile Web and WoT environments

Abstract

Multi-fingered hands offer great potential for compliant and robust grasping of unknown objects, yet their high-dimensional force control presents a significant challenge. This work addresses two key problems: (1) distributing forces across multiple contacts to counteract an object's weight, and (2) preventing rotational slip caused by gravitational torque when a grasp is distant from the object's center of mass. We address these challenges via tactile feedback and a Second-Order Cone Programming (SOCP)-based controller, without explicit torque modeling or slip detection. Our key insights are (1) rotational slip inevitably induces translational slip at some contact points for a multi-fingered grasp, and (2) the ratio of tangential to normal force at each contact is an effective early stability indicator. By actively constraining this ratio for each finger below the estimated friction coefficient, our controller maintains grasp stability against both translational and rotational slip. Real-world experiments on 12 diverse objects demonstrate the robustness and compliance of our approach.

Problem

• dexterous grasping
• tactile feedback
• rotational slip
• force distribution
• grasp stability

Innovation

• tactile feedback
• dexterous grasping
• Second-Order Cone Programming (SOCP)
• rotational slip prevention
• force distribution