The influence of target object shape on maximum grip aperture in human grasping movements

R. Verheij, E. Brenner, J.B.J. Smeets

    Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    The shape of a target object could influence maximum grip aperture in human grasping movements in several different ways. Maximum grip aperture could be influenced by the required precision of digit placement, by the aim to avoid colliding with the wrong parts of the target objects, by the mass of the target objects, or by (mis)judging the width or the volume of the target objects. To examine the influence of these five factors, we asked subjects to grasp five differently shaped target objects with the same maximal width, height and depth and compared their maximum grip aperture with what one would expect for each of the five factors. The five target objects, a cube, a three-dimensional plus sign, a rectangular block, a cylinder and a sphere, were all grasped with the same final grip aperture. The experimentally observed maximum grip apertures correlated poorly with the maximum grip apertures that were expected on the basis of the required precision, the actual mass, the perceived width and the perceived volume. They correlated much better with the maximum grip apertures that were expected on the basis of avoiding unintended collisions with the target object. We propose that the influence of target object shape on maximum grip aperture might primarily be the result of the need to avoid colliding with the wrong parts of the target object.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalExperimental Brain Research
    Early online date29 Jul 2014
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2014

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The influence of target object shape on maximum grip aperture in human grasping movements'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this