Passive variable stiffness at the human hand joints is shown to be critical for achieving stable and dexterous grasping and manipulation. Our long-term goal is to implement it in robotic hand joints. We introduce a novel design, using linear springs and non-circular cam, for a variable stiffness joint mechanism that mimics the passive stiffness characteristics of human hand joints. We present a methodology based on the principle of virtual work for synthesizing the cam shape in the joint. Key innovations of our design are a) human-like joint stiffness profile, b) large joint range of motion, and c) modular arrangement for varying torque range. We have built a prototype for validating our approach and the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed joint mechanism fulfills the design goals of our study.
- Dynamic Systems and Control Division
Novel Design of a Passive Variable Stiffness Joint Mechanism: Inspiration From Biomechanics of Hand Joints
Kuo, P, & Deshpande, AD. "Novel Design of a Passive Variable Stiffness Joint Mechanism: Inspiration From Biomechanics of Hand Joints." Proceedings of the ASME 2013 Dynamic Systems and Control Conference. Volume 2: Control, Monitoring, and Energy Harvesting of Vibratory Systems; Cooperative and Networked Control; Delay Systems; Dynamical Modeling and Diagnostics in Biomedical Systems; Estimation and Id of Energy Systems; Fault Detection; Flow and Thermal Systems; Haptics and Hand Motion; Human Assistive Systems and Wearable Robots; Instrumentation and Characterization in Bio-Systems; Intelligent Transportation Systems; Linear Systems and Robust Control; Marine Vehicles; Nonholonomic Systems. Palo Alto, California, USA. October 21–23, 2013. V002T28A003. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/DSCC2013-3980
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