Enhancing Object Grasping Efficiency with Deep Learning and Post-processing for Multi-finger Robotic Hands

This paper builds upon the well-established ML-based grasping technique, known as the Grasp-Rectangle (GR) method. The original GR method made two simplifying assumptions: it was designed exclusively for two-finger grippers, and it assumed that the gripper would approach objects solely from a top-down perspective on a horizontal surface. We have extended the GR method, for a multi-finger hand beyond these assumptions to (1) enable grasping from top and side views and (2) engage multiple points of contact, enhancing the algorithm’s overall performance. Our approach leverages geometric cues extracted from object images to calculate the optimal grasp pose and contact points, thereby enhancing grasp reliability. Extensive testing was conducted using a 7DOF robotic arm equipped with a 7-DOF 3-finger gripper. We achieved an accuracy of 98.6% on the Cornell Grasping Dataset with a processing time of 120 milliseconds. Furthermore, when assessing object grasping from both top and side perspectives, our algorithm delivered successful grasps at rates of 95% and 96%, respectively. These findings are rooted in a comprehensive series of tests performed across a diverse array of objects.