A Direct Rigid Transmission 2-DoF Wrist Extension for Tendon-Driven Hand

arXiv:2609.22681v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Dexterous manipulation in confined spaces requires local control of hand orientation. Without a wrist, a dexterous hand must obtain this local orientation through coordinated motion of the robot arm, often involving several joints and a more complex end-effector path. We present CRAFT-Wrist, a concentric 2-DoF wrist extension that mounts between a robot arm and the CRAFT Hand without modifying the hand. Two XC430-T240BB-T servos drive sideways and front-back rotation through short rigid transmissions. Our initial hardware prototype actuates both axes under load, achieving a demonstrated workspace of pm20^{irc} in radial--ulnar deviation (left--right) and a front-back range of +80^{irc} in flexion and -18^{irc} in extension. We characterize the resulting finger-motor loading across several wrist postures and demonstrate how the wrist supplies local orientation in grasping, nail hammering, and blackboard wiping. Demonstrations and assembly instructions are available at https://craft-wrist.github.io/.

Source: arXiv cs.RO | 2026-09-22