Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-x4r87 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T15:36:28.330Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Design and control of a compliant robotic actuator with parallel spring-damping transmission

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2024

Peikang Yuan ,
Jianbin Liu ,
David T. Branson ,
Zhibin Song Open the ORCID record for Zhibin Song [Opens in a new window] ,
Shuai Wu ,
Jian S. Dai  and
Rongjie Kang Open the ORCID record for Rongjie Kang [Opens in a new window]
Peikang Yuan
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
Jianbin Liu
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
David T. Branson
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
Zhibin Song
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
Shuai Wu
Affiliation:
Research Institute for Frontier Science, Beihang University, Beijing, 100191, China
Jian S. Dai
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Intelligent Robotics and Flexible Manufacturing Systems, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, 518055, China
Rongjie Kang*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China
*
Corresponding author: Rongjie Kang; Email: rjkang@tju.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Physically compliant actuator brings significant benefits to robots in terms of environmental adaptability, human–robot interaction, and energy efficiency as the introduction of the inherent compliance. However, this inherent compliance also limits the force and position control performance of the actuator system due to the induced oscillations and decreased mechanical bandwidth. To solve this problem, we first investigate the dynamic effects of implementing variable physical damping into a compliant actuator. Following this, we propose a structural scheme that integrates a variable damping element in parallel to a conventional series elastic actuator. A damping regulation algorithm is then developed for the parallel spring-damping actuator (PSDA) to tune the dynamic performance of the system while remaining sufficient compliance. Experimental results show that the PSDA offers better stability and dynamic capability in the force and position control by generating appropriate damping levels.

Keywords

compliant actuatorvariable dampingforce controlposition control
Type
Research Article
Information
Robotica , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , April 2024 , pp. 1113 - 1133
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Kim, H.-S., Kim, I.-M., Cho, C.-N. and Song, J.-B., “Safe joint module for safe robot arm based on passive and active compliance method,” Mechatronics 22(7), 1023–1030 (2012).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boaventura, T., Buchli, J., Semini, C. and Caldwell, D. G., “Model-based hydraulic impedance control for dynamic robots,” IEEE Trans. Rob. 31(6), 1324–1336 (2015).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanderborght, B., Albu-Schaeffer, A., Bicchi, A., Burdet, E., Caldwell, D. G., Carloni, R., Catalano, M., Eiberger, O., Friedl, W., Ganesh, G., Garabini, M., Grebenstein, M., Grioli, G., Haddadin, S., Hoppner, H., Jafari, A., Laffranchi, M., Lefeber, D., Petit, F., Stramigioli, S., Tsagarakis, N., Van Damme, M., Van Ham, R., Visser, L. C. and Wolf, S., “Variable impedance actuators: A review,” Robot. Auton. Syst. 61(12), 1601–1614 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ham, R. V., Sugar, T. G., Vanderborght, B., Hollander, K. W. and Lefeber, D., “Compliant actuator designs,” IEEE Rob. Autom. Mag. 16(3), 81–94 (2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghafoor, A., Dai, J. S. and Duffy, J., “Stiffness modeling of the soft-finger contact in robotic grasping,” J. Mech. Des. 126(4), 646–656 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dong, H., Asadi, E., Qiu, C., Dai, J. and Chen, I. M., “Geometric design optimization of an under-actuated tendon-driven robotic gripper,” Rob. Comput.-Integr. Manuf. 50, 80–89 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pratt, G. A. and Williamson, M. M., “Series Elastic Actuators,” Proceedings 1995 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Human Robot Interaction and Cooperative Robots (1995) pp. 399–406.Google Scholar
Ren, X., Li, Z., Zhou, M. and Hu, Y., “Human intention-aware motion planning and adaptive fuzzy control for a collaborative robot with flexible joints,” IEEE Trans. Fuzzy Syst. 31(7), 2375–2388 (2023).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calanca, A. and Fiorini, P., “Human-adaptive control of series elastic actuators,” Robotica 32(8), 1301–1316 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ju, W., Kang, R., Li, B., Song, Z. and Zhang, S., “Design of a torsional compliant mechanism with given discrete torque-deflection points for nonlinear stiffness elastic actuator,” Robotica 41(9), 2571–2587 (2023).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oh, S. and Kong, K., “High-precision robust force control of a series elastic actuator,” IEEE-ASME Trans. Mechatron. 22(1), 71–80 (2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nieto, E. A. B., Rezazadeh, S. and Gregg, R. D., “Minimizing energy consumption and peak power of series elastic actuators: A convex optimization framework for elastic element design,” IEEE-ASME Trans. Mechatron. 24(3), 1334–1345 (2019).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calanca, A. and Verstraten, T., “An energy efficiency index for elastic actuators during resonant motion,” Robotica 40(5), 1450–1474 (2022).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, J., Guo, Z., Sun, D., He, S. and Xiao, X., “Design, modeling and control of a novel compact, energy-efficient, and rotational serial variable stiffness actuator (Svsa-li),” Mech. Mach. Theory 130, 123–136 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morrell, J. B. and Salisbury, J. K., “Parallel Coupled Actuators for High Performance Force Control: A Micro-Macro Concept,” Proceedings 1995 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems. Human Robot Interaction and Cooperative Robots, vol. 1 (1995) pp. 391–398.Google Scholar
Zinn, M., Khatib, O., Roth, B. and Salisbury, J. K., “Playing it safe [human-friendly robots],” IEEE Rob. Autom. Mag. 11(2), 12–21 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wolf, S., Grioli, G., Eiberger, O., Friedl, W., Grebenstein, M., Höppner, H., Burdet, E., Caldwell, D. G., Carloni, R., Catalano, M. G., Lefeber, D., Stramigioli, S., Tsagarakis, N., Van Damme, M., Van Ham, R., Vanderborght, B., Visser, L. C., Bicchi, A. and Albu-Schäffer, A.,  “Variable stiffness actuators: Review on design and components,” IEEE-ASME Trans. Mechatron. 21(5), 2418–2430 (2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xu, Y., Guo, K., Sun, J. and Li, J., “Modeling and control of a reconfigurable variable stiffness actuator,” Mech. Syst. Signal Proc. 160, 107883 (2021).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bilancia, P., Berselli, G. and Palli, G., “Virtual and physical prototyping of a beam-based variable stiffness actuator for safe human-machine interaction,” Rob. Comput.-Integr. Manuf. 65, 101886 (2020).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fu, X., Li, Y., Wang, W. and Yun, C., “Design and implementation of a variable stiffness actuator based on flexible gear rack mechanism,” Robotica 36(3), 448–462 (2018).Google Scholar
Harder, M., Keppler, M., Meng, X., Ott, C., Höppner, H. and Dietrich, A., “Simultaneous motion tracking and joint stiffness control of bidirectional antagonistic variable-stiffness actuators,” IEEE Rob. Autom. Lett. 7(3), 6614–6621 (2022).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mengacci, R., Garabini, M., Grioli, G., Catalano, M. G. and Bicchi, A., “Overcoming the torque/stiffness range tradeoff in antagonistic variable stiffness actuators,” IEEE-ASME Trans. Mechatron. 26(6), 3186–3197 (2021).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, Y., Liu, X., Yuan, Z. and Liu, J., “Design and analysis of spring parallel variable stiffness actuator based on antagonistic principle,” Mech. Mach. Theory 140, 44–58 (2019).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurst, J., Rizzi, A. and Hobbelen, D., “Series Elastic Actuation: Potential and Pitfalls,” International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots (2004).Google Scholar
Monteleone, S., Negrello, F., Catalano, M. G., Garabini, M. and Grioli, G., “Damping in compliant actuation: A review,” IEEE Robot. Autom. Mag. 29(3), 47–66 (2022).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laffranchi, M., Tsagarakis, N. G. and Caldwell, D. G., “Analysis and development of a semiactive damper for compliant actuation systems,” IEEE-ASME Trans. Mechatron. 18(2), 744–753 (2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chew, C.-M., Hong, G.-S. and Zhou, W., “Design of series damper actuator,” Robotica 27(3), 379–387 (2009).Google Scholar
Paine, N., Oh, S. and Sentis, L., “Design and control considerations for high-performance series elastic actuators,” IEEE-ASME Trans. Mechatron. 19(3), 1080–1091 (2014).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vallery, H., Veneman, J., Asseldonk, E. v., Ekkelenkamp, R., Buss, M. and Kooij, H. v. D., “Compliant actuation of rehabilitation robots,” IEEE Rob. Autom. Mag. 15(3), 60–69 (2008).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tagliamonte, N. L. and Accoto, D., “Passivity constraints for the impedance control of series elastic actuators,” Proc. Inst. Mech. Eng. Part I-J Syst. Control Eng. 228(3), 138–153 (2013).Google Scholar
Nise, N. S., Control Systems Engineering (John Wiley & Sons, United Kingdom, 2020).Google Scholar
Laffranchi, M., Tsagarakis, N. G. and Caldwell, D. G., “A Variable Physical Damping Actuator (Vpda) for Compliant Robotic Joints,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (2010) pp. 1668–1674.Google Scholar
Sun, J., Guo, Z., Zhang, Y., Xiao, X. and Tan, J., “A novel design of serial variable stiffness actuator based on an archimedean spiral relocation mechanism,” IEEE-ASME Trans. Mechatron. 23(5), 2121–2131 (2018).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oh, J.-S., Sohn, J. W. and Choi, S.-B., “Applications of magnetorheological fluid actuator to multi-dof systems: State-of-the-art from 2015 to 2021,” Actuators 11(2), 44 (2022). doi: 10.3390/act11020044.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramkumar, G., Gnanaprakasam, A. J., Thirumarimurugan, M., Nandhakumar, M., Nithishmohan, M., Abinash, K., and Kishore, S., Synthesis characterization and functional analysis of magneto rheological fluid – a critical review, Mater. Today Proc. 66(3), 760–774 (2022).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ullah, Z., Chaichaowarat, R. and Wannasuphoprasit, W., “Variable damping actuator using an electromagnetic brake for impedance modulation in physical human –Robot interaction,” Robotics 12(3), 80 (2023). doi: 10.3390/robotics12030080.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsagarakis, N. G., Laffranchi, M., Vanderborght, B. and Caldwell, D. G., “A Compact Soft Actuator Unit for Small Scale Human Friendly Robots,” IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (2009) pp. 4356–4362.Google Scholar
Bicchi, A., Tonietti, G., Bavaro, M. and Piccigallo, M., “Variable Stiffness Actuators for Fast and Safe Motion Control,” Robotics Research. The Eleventh International Symposium (2005) pp. 527–536.Google Scholar
Ren, X., Liu, Y., Hu, Y. and Li, Z., “Integrated task sensing and whole body control for mobile manipulation with series elastic actuators,” IEEE Trans. Autom. Sci. Eng. 20(1), 413–424 (2023).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhi, D., Feng, Z., Xu, W., Kang, R. and Chen, L., “Design and Control of a Variable Viscous Damping Actuator (Vvda) for Compliant Robotic Joints,”2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO) (2018) pp. 1876–1881.Google Scholar