Variable stiffness actuators

The concept of variable stiffness actuators is of relevance to emerging robotics applications. In particular, the intrinsic compliance of the actuator can ensure safe human-robot and robot-environment interaction, even in unexpected collisions. From the analysis of two elementary design classes, lying at the basis of the majority of variable stiffness actuator designs, it is concluded that they are not energy efficient in changing the apparent output stiffness. This can be an issue in mobile applications, where the available energy is limited. Therefore, a new class of energy-efficient variable stiffness actuators is introduced. The conceptual design has been validated by means of simulations and experiments with a prototype realisation.

Download Mikroniek 2010-5

Back to overview

We use cookies to improve your experience on our website

References

Order of frictions and stiffnesses…

For lumped systems consisting of different frictions and stiffnesses, there has been confusion in literature about hysteresis curves and virtual play for many decades.

Make it clean

In mid-April, the second edition of the Manufacturing Technology Conference and the fifth edition of the Clean Event were held together, for the first time, at the Koningshof in Veldhoven (NL).

Bringing particles to light

Particle contamination monitoring and cleanliness control are fundamental to micromanufacturing processes across diverse industries to achieve cost-effective production of high-quality and reliable microscale devices and components.