Abstract
A tendon-driven robot offers many advantages, such as easy designs for mass distribution that facilitate dexterous motion. A procedure to design such a robot using a single actuator to achieve the desired force direction and magnitude on an endpoint is presented herein. The force on the endpoint is generated by the single actuator and a wire that passes through pulleys attached on links. To set the pulley position for the desired force direction and magnitude, a geometrical condition is proposed. To evaluate the proposed method, a physical monopod robot was developed. We compared the calculated and physical forces on the endpoint of the physical robot for the desired directions. Finally, we confirmed that the proposed method provided the desired force on the endpoint without iterative trials.
Highlights
Wire- or tendon-driven robots whose joints are driven through a wire have been discussed extensively in the field of robotics
We demonstrated that the direction of the force on the endpoint, or the toe in this study, could be arbitrarily determined by setting the pulley position
To validate the proposed procedure that generates a force toward the desired direction, we investigated vertical jumping
Summary
Wire- or tendon-driven robots whose joints are driven through a wire have been discussed extensively in the field of robotics. The tendon-driven mechanism has been extensively investigated; it typically involves setting the pulley position symmetrical to the joint or the center of the link to facilitate a simple calculation of the robot posture and force [10,11,12]. Actuators 2020, 9, 48 radius of a pulley to obtain force equilibrium using a numerical model [13] Though this approach provides the optimized pulley position, it requires iterative trials that cause the joints and pulley of a physical robot to break. A model of the tendon-driven mechanism was adopted by revising the Higashimori tendon-driven mechanism [2], and a geometrical condition to determine the pulley position was derived This method provides the desired force direction and magnitude on the toe without iterative trials. We observed whether the desired force was generated at the endpoint of the foot
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
