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Variations in the Biomechanics of 16 Palmar Hand Regions Related to Tomato Picking

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to systematically reveal the differences in the biomechanics of 16 hand regions related to bionic picking of tomatoes. The biomechanical properties (peak loading force, elastic coefficient, maximum percentage deformation and interaction contact mechanics between human hand and tomato fruit) of each hand region were experimentally measured and covariance analyzed. The results revealed that there were significant variations in the assessed biomechanical properties between the 16 hand regions (p < 0.05). The maximum pain force threshold (peak loading force in I2 region) was 5.11 times higher than the minimum pain force threshold (in Th1 region). It was found that each hand region in its normal direction can elastically deform by at least 15.30%. The elastic coefficient of the 16 hand regions ranged from 0.22 to 2.29 N mm−1. The interaction contact force acting on the fruit surface was affected by the selected human factors and fruit features. The obtained covariance models can quantitatively predict all of the above biomechanical properties of 16 hand regions. The findings were closely related to hand grasping performance during tomato picking, such as soft contact, surface interaction, stable and dexterous grasping, provided a foundation for developing a high-performance tomato-picking bionic robotic hand.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

T1:

Thumb distal region

T2:

Thumb proximal region

I1:

Index finger distal region

I2:

Index finger middle region

I3:

Index finger proximal region

M1:

Middle finger distal region

M2:

Middle finger middle region

M3:

Middle finger proximal region

R1:

Ring finger distal region

R2:

Ring finger middle region

R3:

Ring finger proximal region

L1:

Little finger distal region

L2:

Little finger middle region

L3:

Little finger proximal region

Th1:

Little thenar region

Th2:

Large thenar region

H :

Thickness of the hand region

S L :

Area of the hand region

R f :

Radius of curvature at the point P of the hand region

S P :

Contact area between hand and fruit

H 1 :

Initial distance between the calibration label and base

H 2 :

Final distance between the calibration label and base

FL :

Peak loading force

D d :

Maximum deformable displacement

D P :

Maximum percentage deformation

λ :

Elastic coefficient

F P :

A normal force being applied to position A on the fruit surface

R c :

Radius of curvature at a loading position point on the fruit surface

BMI :

Body mass index

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a European Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship (326847 and 912847), a Chinese Universities Scientific Fund (2452018313) and an Opening Project of the Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education) of Jilin University (KF20200005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mechanical and Electronic Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Xianyang, 712100, China

    Xue An & Zhiguo Li

  2. The Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering (Ministry of Education), Jilin University, Changchun, 130012, China

    Jun Fu

  3. Postharvest Research Laboratory, Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, 2006, South Africa

    Tobi Fadiji

  4. Dynax Corporation, 1-12-7 10F, Fuchucho, Fuchushi, Tokyo, 183-0055, Japan

    Sheng Zhang

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  1. Xue An
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Correspondence to Zhiguo Li.

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An, X., Li, Z., Fu, J. et al. Variations in the Biomechanics of 16 Palmar Hand Regions Related to Tomato Picking. J Bionic Eng 20, 278–290 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42235-022-00244-7

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