abstract
- We present the design and validation of an anthropomorphic prosthetic hand with 18 degrees of freedom (15 flexion-extension and 3 MCP ab/adduction) actuated with a single actuator. A cable-driven differential with nested pulleys redistributes tension so that the four fingers progress sequentially and adaptively upon contact, enabling conformal grasps with a single command. The fingertip trajectory is modeled as a logarithmic (equiangular) spiral consistent with neurophysiology, and the fingers' elastic return constants are identified so as to reproduce human-like kinematics. We analyze the force flow of the differential for cylindrical and non-cylindrical objects and demonstrate adaptive grasping of everyday items. A standardized evaluation protocol is described to align experiments with the kinematic and force analyses, supporting reproducibility.