Robotic dexterity via nonholonomy

In this we consider some new avenues that the design and control of versatile robotic end-effectors, or hands, are taking to tackle the stringent requirements of both industrial and servicing applications. A point is made in favour of the so-called minimalist approach to design, consisting in the reduction of the hardware complexity to the bare minimum necessary to fulfill the specifications. It will be shown that to serve this purpose best, more advanced understanding of the mechanics and control of the hand-object system is necessary. Some advancements in this direction are reported, while few of the many problems still open are pointed out.