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Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Estimation of Contact Regions Between Hands and Objects During Human Multi-Digit Grasping
Published on: April 21, 2023
Does planning a different trajectory influence the choice of grasping points?
Dimitris Voudouris1, Eli Brenner, Willemijn D Schot
1Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University, Van der Boechorststraat 9, 1081 BT, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. d.voudouris@fbw.vu.nl
Abstract:
We examined whether the movement path is considered when selecting the positions at which the digits will contact the object's surface (grasping points). Subjects grasped objects of different heights but with the same radius at various locations on a table. At some locations, one digit crossed to the side of the object opposite of where it started. In doing so, it moved over a short object whereas it curved around a tall object. This resulted in very different paths for different objects. Importantly, the selection of grasping points was unaffected. That subjects do not appear to consider the path when selecting grasping points suggests that the grasping points are selected before planning the movements towards those points.
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