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Compliant joints have significant advantages compared to rigid-body hinges due to a monolithic design and the absence of friction, which prevents effects like wear, backlash, and stick-slip behavior. However, the loading capability is often limited and the support stiffness generally decreases during rotation. A new design principle called closed form pressure balancing has been proposed as a solution to improve these limitations. By using an incompressible fluid as the main compliant element, the support stiffness becomes independent of rotation and buckling no longer limits the loading capability. This work analyzes the fundamental working principle behind closed form pressure balancing and introduces a 2D design model to determine stiffness properties. The design model is validated with a finite element model and used to construct an optimization strategy for optimum joint performance. Additionally, a conversion model and some practical considerations are presented for the transition to a 3D design model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compliant joint plays a vital role in micro-positioning systems, robotics, and precision instruments due to its friction-free and fine motion. However, the existing joints are limited in range of motions and degrees of freedom. Thus, this paper proposes a new compliant joint (CJ) which is inspired from the dragonfly's wing. The proposed joint can provide two translational motions with a large range of motion. The CJ has six curvilinear shapes which are arranged in a parallel architecture. Besides, the proposed joint has a thin-wall structure to enlarge the deformation capacity. Based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, the analytical model is established to describe the stiffness and displacement of the joint. Effects of the joint's geometries on the stiffness are investigated. The deformation and load capacities of the CJ are determined. The results showed that the displacement of the CJ in the y-axis is increased to 43.5% and 5.95% in comparison with the circular notch hinge and rectangular flexure hinge, respectively. Besides, the results determined that the displacements of the CJ in the x-axis are 58.57 times and 51.25 times larger than those of the traditional flexure hinges, respectively. The errors between the simulation, analytical model, and experiment are around 5%. It means that the closed-form model is validated for the proposed joint. The proposed CJ is a potential joint for micro-positioning technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect wings are deformable airfoils, in which deformations are mostly achieved by complicated interactions between their structural components. Due to the complexity of the wing design and technical challenges associated with testing the delicate wings, we know little about the properties of their components and how they determine wing response to flight forces. Here, we report an unusual structure from the hind-wing membrane of the beetle Pachnoda marginata. The structure, a transverse section of the claval flexion line, consists of two distinguishable layers: a bell-shaped upper layer and a straight lower layer. Our computational simulations showed that this is an effective one-way hinge, which is stiff in tension and upward bending but flexible in compression and downward bending. By systematically varying its design parameters in a computational model, we showed that the properties of the double-layer membrane hinge can be tuned over a wide range. This enabled us to develop a broad design space, which we later used for model selection. We used selected models in three distinct applications, which proved that the double-layer hinge represents a simple yet effective design strategy for controlling the mechanical response of structures using a single material and with no extra mass. The insect-inspired, one-way hinge is particularly useful for developing structures with asymmetric behavior, exhibiting different responses to the same load in two opposite directions. This multidisciplinary study not only advances our understanding of the biomechanics of complicated insect wings but also informs the design of easily tunable engineering hinges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonlinear stiffness actuator (NSA) is a type of compliant joint with variable stiffness that is necessary for human-machine collaboration and has been the focus of extensive research attention. This academic work presents the principle of a torsion spring-connected nonlinear stiffness actuator (TSNSA), a NSA suitable for implementing revolute motions, which contrasts with existing NSAs that often have bulky mechanisms and are affected by a limited range of movement. It has a split sleeve, disc springs, and cam mechanisms (CMs) that when correctly configured, can passively and actively adjust stiffness, where the speed of stiffness regulation can be effectively improved. The mathematical model of a split sleeve inserted into a torsion spring is designed to analyze the behavior of mechanical components. Furthermore, a detailed CM profile has been designed to obtain the desired nonlinear stiffness. Its theoretical analysis includes numerical simulations with results consistent with the desired deflection-torque profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The exoskeleton for lower limb rehabilitation is an uprising field of robot technology. However, since it is difficult to achieve all the optimal design values at the same time, each lower extremity exoskeleton has its own focus.Objective: This study aims to develop a modular lightweight lower extremity exoskeleton (MOLLEE) with novel compliant ankle joints, and evaluate the movement performance through kinematics analysis.Methods: The overall structure of the exoskeleton was proposed and the adjustable frames, active joint modules, and compliant ankle joints were designed. The forward and inverse kinematics models were established based on the geometric method. The theoretical models were validated by numerical simulations in ADAMS, and the kinematic performance was demonstrated through walking experiments.Results: The proposed lower extremity offers six degrees of freedom (DoF). The exoskeleton frame was designed adjustable to fit wearers with a height between 1.55 m and 1.80 m, and waist width from 37 cm to 45 cm. The joint modules can provide maximum torque at 107 Nm for adequate knee and hip joint motion forces. The compliant ankle can bear large flexible deformation, and the relationship between its angular deformation and the contact force can be fitted with a quadratic polynomial function. The kinematics models were established and verified through numerical simulations, and the walking experiments in different action states have shown the expected kinematic characteristics of the designed exoskeleton.Conclusions: The proposed MOLLEE exoskeleton is adjustable, modular, and compliant. The designed adjustable frame and compliant ankle can ensure comfort and safety for different wearers. In addition, the kinematics characteristics of the exoskeleton can meet the needs of daily rehabilitation activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-legged compliant parallel mechanism (3L-CPM) achieves fully decoupled motions when its theoretical 6 × 6 stiffness/compliance matrix is a diagonal matrix, which only contains diagonal components, while all non-diagonal components are zeros. Because the motion decoupling capability of 3L-CPMs is essential in the precision engineering field, this paper presents the fundamental criteria for designing 3L-CPMs with fully decoupled motions, regardless of degrees-of-freedom and the types of flexure element. The 6 × 6 stiffness matrix of a general 3L-CPM is derived based on the orientation of each flexure element, e.g., thin/slender beam and notch hinge, etc., and its relative position to the moving platform. Based on an analytical solution, several requirements for the flexure elements were identified and needed to be satisfied in order to design a 3L-CPM with a diagonal stiffness/compliance matrix. In addition, the developed design criteria were used to analyze the decoupled-motion capability of some existing 3L-CPM designs and shown to provide insight into the motion characteristics of any 3L-CPM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new butterfly-inspired compliant joint by combining a butterfly's profile and a foldable mechanism. The joint can achieve three degrees of freedom in its fabrication plane, including two translations in the x- and y-axes and a rotary motion around the z-axis. Equivalent spring stiffness of the joint is easy to be adjusted by adopting a foldable mechanism, while a butterfly's profile gives better compliance. Closed-form model of the joint is established to calculate stiffness, displacement, and rotational angle. Performances and effectiveness of the proposed joint are verified by comparing with other joints. A prototype is fabricated, and experiments are conducted. The results show a good agreement between the analytical model, simulation, and experiment. Compared with a conventional rectangular flexure joint in terms of bending displacement and compressive displacement, the results found that performances of the joint are greatly improved. Bending displacement and angular displacement of the joint are increased by up to 14.6% and 12.6%, respectively. The proposed joint can be considered as a potential candidate for a precise positioning system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY: This paper discusses the concept and parameter design of a robust stair-climbing compliant modular robot, capable of tackling stairs with overhangs. Geometry modifications of the periphery of the wheels of our robot helped in tackling overhangs. Along with establishing a concept design, the robust design parameters are set to minimize performance variations. The Grey-based Taguchi method is applied to provide an optimal setting for the design parameters of the robot. The robot prototype is shown to have successfully scaled stairs of varying dimensions, with overhang, thus corroborating the analysis performed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human safety represents the key requirement in physical human-robot interaction (pHRI). However, the majority of current research works focus on the safety evaluation. There is no definite way to design a robot that not only meets the performance but also has inherent safety. A humanoid robot for human joint movement rehabilitation is developed, to fulfill the requirement of both safety and its performance. A nonlinear model of human-robot collision with effective mass and stiffness of robot's end-effecter (EE) is proposed. An important parameter involved in the model is the joint stiffness of the robot, which has an inherent direct effect on the safety. The influence of joint compliance on the modal frequencies is analyzed, and the kinematic performance of the robot is estimated roughly by the lowest order modal frequency. The design method of compliant joint stiffness is put forward, which can balance the safety and kinematics performance requirements. When the compliance is utilized intentionally in joints to improve safety, the question whether or not rigid performance of compliant joint can be achieved or approached by control is arose naturally. Such a challenge is addressed by the cascade control, where outer position loop with link-side position feedback is constructed. Here, restoring torque in the elastic transmission is taken as virtual control that is, in turn, set as the reference command of the inner torque loop. Intuitively, once the virtual control is reproduced as rapidly as possible in the inner torque loop, quasi-rigid performance is exhibited in the outer position loop as if there were no series elasticity in compliant joint. The stability criterion is derived, and the virtual stiffness and dynamic performance are examined. Finally, experiments are performed to validate effectiveness of the suggested control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compliant joints are the basis of compliant mechanisms. In this paper, a variable stiffness compliant joint is presented. By sliding the sliders on the flexure segments, the effective length can be changed, which leads to the variation of the joint's stiffness. The closed-form model is given, and the equations needed to calculate the equivalent spring constant are derived. Using these equations, the joint is analyzed theoretically. Furthermore, the model is verified using finite element analysis (FEA). The results obtained through two different ways coincide with each other very well, and the results show that the joint's stiffness can change in a large range. Since the sliders can slide both symmetrically and unsymmetrically, the joint is discussed in two different situations. Finally, an example of application is given, the mechanism can reach different positions by changing the joint's stiffness when the external loads are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variable stiffness actuator (VSA) can significantly improve the dynamic performance of robots and ensure safety in human robot interaction. In this paper, a novel structure-controlled VSA which achieves a lower minimal stiffness while the size and load capacity remain unchanged is introduced. Stiffness variation is implemented by changing the effective length of parallel-assembled-folded serial leaf springs presented in this paper, which makes the adjustment of stiffness easier and driven by an independent motor. A modified analytical model of joint stiffness is built, which takes the gap between leaf springs and rollers into consideration. Experiments prove that the modified model is more accurate comparing with the ideal model which ignores the gap. Further analyses show that the gap can even make serious impacts on leaf spring-based structure-controlled VSA in other performances such as deformability and energy capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a Compliant thin-walled joint (CTWJ) that expands the group of existing compliant joints. The CTWJ design is based on the nonlinear geometry of the zygoptera animal. With a thin-walled structure, the CTWJ allows a considerably large range of motion in the x-and-y axes. In addition, the thin-walled structure is then filled by polydimethylsiloxane material to reinforce the stiffness of the CTWJ. First, design of experiment methodology is used for the sensitive analysis of the width and the thickness to the strain of joint. The range of motion, the strain, the buckling behavior, and the first natural frequency of CTWJ are investigated via finite element analysis and experiments. The behavior of the CTWJ is subsequently compared with the conventional compliant joints to realize the efficient performance of the CTWJ. The results revealed that the CTWJ has a range of motion and strain energy larger than those of traditional compliant joints. Finally, an example of vibration isolator is modeled by using the CTWJ as planar spring. It is believed that the CTWJ has a great potential for the development of compliant mechanisms in terms of large range of motions in mutliple axes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robotic operations need to be safe for unpredictable contacts. Joints with passive compliance with springs can be used for soft robotic contacts. However the joints cannot measure external collision forces. In this investigation was developed one passive compliant joint which have soft contacts with external objects and measurement capabilities. To ensure it, conductive silicone rubber was used as material for modeling of the compliant segments of the robotic joint. These compliant segments represent embedded sensors. The conductive silicone rubber is electrically conductive by deformations. The main task was to obtain elastic absorbers for the external collision forces. These absorbers can be used for measurement in the same time. In other words, the joint has an internal measurement system. Adaptive neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) was used to estimate the safety level of the robotic joint by head injury criteria (HIC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Adaptable to nonstructural environment, compliant joints are competent candidates for flexure fingers in humanoid robotic hands. This paper presents an equivalent pin model (EPM), which provides an in-depth understanding on flexure finger dynamics by accounting for the moving rotation center and varying radius of a compliant joint. Distinguished from other lumped-parameter formulations based on constant-axis pin-joint approximation, the large deformation of a compliant joint is characterized by closed-form solutions obtained from a distributed Euler–Bernoulli (E–B) beam model. Modeling tolerance guidelines derived by comparing the E–B model against finite element analysis (FEA) without neglecting shear distortions are provided for designing dimensions of a compliant joint. Design evaluation is illustrated with a flexure finger consisting of three phalanxes by comparing the maximum stress among different configurations. The EPM reveals critical effects of rotational center-offset and varying radius on the dynamic response of a flexure finger, showing that the negligence of these effects yields an out-of-phase prediction in joint rotation. Although presented in the scope of finger manipulation, the method is expected to have potential applications for multi-body dynamics involving compliant mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Highlights: [•] A novel, sensorized, elastomer coupling based on the principle of jaw couplings is presented. [•] The elastomer coupling is integrated into a self-contained, rotatory joint drive. [•] Integrated rotary position sensors measure the torsion angle of the coupling. [•] A system identification of the elastomer coupling is realized and models are derived. [•] Using these models with the torsion measurement the acting torque can be estimated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Passive compliant joints with springs and dampers ensure a smooth contact with the surroundings, especially if robots are in contact with humans, but the passive compliant joints cannot determine precisely the position of the members of the joint or direction of the collision force. In this paper was proposed the structure of a passive compliant robotic joint with conductive silicone rubber elements as internal embedded sensors. The sensors can operate as absorbers of excessive external collision force instead of springs and dampers and can be used for some measurements. Therefore, this joint presents one type of safe robotic mechanisms with an internally measuring system. The sensors were made by press-curing from carbon-black filled silicone rubber which is an electro active material. Various compression tests of the sensors were done. The main task of this study is to investigate the application of a control algorithm for detecting the direction of the robotic joint angular rotation when subjected to an external collision force. Soft computing methodology, adaptive neuro fuzzy inference strategy (ANFIS), was used for the controller development. The simulation results presented in this paper show the effectiveness of the developed method. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For tasks that require robot–environment interaction, stiffness control is important to ensure stable contact motion and collision safety. The variable stiffness approach has been used to address this type of control. We propose a hybrid variable stiffness actuator (HVSA), which is a variable stiffness unit design. The proposed HVSA is composed of a hybrid control module based on an adjustable moment-arm mechanism, and a drive module with two motors. By controlling the relative motion of gears in the hybrid control module, position and stiffness of a joint can be simultaneously controlled. The HVSA provides a wide range of joint stiffness due to the nonlinearity provided by the adjustable moment arm. Furthermore, the rigid mode, which behaves as a conventional stiff joint, can be implemented to improve positioning accuracy when a robot handles a heavy object. In this paper, the mechanical design features and related analysis are explained. We show that the HVSA can provide a wide range of stiffness and rapid responses according to changes in the stiffness of a joint under varying loads by experiments. The effectiveness of the rigid mode is verified by some experiments on position tracking under high-load conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Antagonistic Driven Compliant Joints (ADCJs) are object of great interest in current robotics research, representing one of the most widely applied solutions to develop human-like and safe joints for human-robot interaction. Providing the joint with “actively” adjustable hardware compliance, ADCJs have two distinctive features: (1) the joint is powered by two independent “actuation units” and (2) each actuation unit works as a non-linear elastic element with an adjustable resting position. This paper proposes a sensorless torque control strategy suitable for ADCJs actuated robots. This method is based on two steps: (1) off-line characterization of the elasticity of the actuation units, defined by the force–elongation curve and (2) online estimation of the force exerted by each actuation unit, through a direct measure of the joint angle, and of the “resting position” of each actuation unit. The proposed force estimation method can be used to develop two independent force controllers, which can be then combined to regulate the resulting joint torque, with no need of additional torque sensors. The performance of the proposed torque control was evaluated over the shoulder and the elbow ADCJs of the 2-link 2-DOFs planar robotic arm NEURARM. The method proved to work effectively, achieving good performances on the test platform, and represents a suitable alternative to state-of-the-art sensor-based torque controls. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In order to further improve the efficiency of flapping wings, inspired by bird flight, a new compliant joint structure is proposed, which is easy to manufacture. The joint has the capacity of passive bending, twisting and sweeping under the aerodynamic effect of the flapping wing. A multi-objective optimization program for the compliant joint is developed, which is combined with the measured joint load. The optimized compliant joint has the effect of asymmetric passive deformation in a flapping cycle. The model wings with compliant joints are studied in the windless flapping experiment, wind tunnel experiment and free flight test. The experimental results show that the model wings have a significant advantage of power consumption compared with the original wings, and also have an advantage in the aerodynamic performance at low flight velocity and low angle of attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]