A light-weight, multi-axis compliant tensegrity joint
This addresses the need for safe and adaptable robotic joints in human-robot interaction and biologically accurate models, though it appears incremental in the field of compliant actuators.
The paper tackled the problem of designing a compliant robotic joint for unpredictable environments by presenting a biologically inspired tensegrity elbow that is structurally compliant across multiple axes, achieving functional redundancy and flexibility.
In this paper, we present a light-weight, multi- axis compliant tenegrity joint that is biologically inspired by the human elbow. This tensegrity elbow actuates by shortening and lengthening cable in a method inspired by muscular actuation in a person. Unlike many series elastic actuators, this joint is structurally compliant not just along each axis of rotation, but along other axes as well. Compliant robotic joints are indispensable in unpredictable environments, including ones where the robot must interface with a person. The joint also addresses the need for functional redundancy and flexibility, traits which are required for many applications that investigate the use of biologically accurate robotic models.