Abstract
The purpose of rotary series elastic actuators (RSEAs) is to reduce the interface stiffness between an actuator and the user, while achieving torque control, less inadvertent damage, high shock tolerance, and energy storage. In this paper we developed a RSEA test platform and control system for identifying the factors that affect performance. The effectiveness of a RSEA is studied by a sequence of experiments where a series of torque profiles are supplied to a handle, which the user holds while providing rotation about the elbow joint. By comparing desired torque outputs with those found via the spring deflection and those measured by an in-system load cell, the performance of the system is analyzed. The results indicated that the system is mostly limited by the torsion spring, its attachment, and the nonlinearities associated with it. The spring itself has a large impact on the torque/frequency bandwidth of the RSEA.
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Donald, M., Li, Q. (2012). Design and Performance Evaluation of a Rotary Series Elastic Actuator. In: Su, CY., Rakheja, S., Liu, H. (eds) Intelligent Robotics and Applications. ICIRA 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 7506. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33509-9_56
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33509-9_56
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