This paper present a novel dual-speed actuator adapted to robotics. In many applications, robots have to bear large loads while moving slowly and also have to move quickly through the air with almost no load. This lead to conflicting requirements for their actuators. Multiple gear ratios address this issue by allowing an effective use of power over a wide range of torque-speed load conditions. Furthermore, very different gear ratios also lead to drastic changes of the intrinsic impedance, enabling a non-back-drivable mode for stiff position control and a back-drivable mode for force control. The proposed actuator consists of two electric motors coupled to a differential; one has a large gear ratio while the other is almost direct-drive and equipped with a brake. During the high-force mode the brake is locked, only one motor is used, and the actuator behaves like a regular highly-geared servo-motor. During the high-speed mode the brake is open, both motor are used at the same time, and the actuator behaves like a direct drive motor. A dynamic model is developed and novel controllers are proposed for synergic use of both motors. The redundancy of motors is exploited for maintaining full control of the output during mode transitions, allowing for fast and seamless switching even when interacting with unknown environments. Results are demonstrated with a proof-of-concept linear actuator.
Comparison between External and Internal Single Stage Planetary gearbox actuators for legged robots
Indian Institute of Science（印度科学学院）；Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee（印度理工学院罗尔基分校）；National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli（Tiruchirappalli国家理工学院）
A Co-Design Framework for Energy-Aware Monoped Jumping with Detailed Actuator Modeling
Robert Bosch Center for Cyber Physical Systems, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru（罗伯特·博世网络物理系统中心，印度科学研究院，班加罗尔）；Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee（印度理工学院，罗尔基）；Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal（曼普及技术学院，曼普及）；Robert Bosch Center for Cyber Physical Systems and the Department of Computer Science & Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru（罗伯特·博世网络物理系统中心和计算机科学与自动化系，印度科学研究院，班加罗尔）
Design and Control of a Compact Series Elastic Actuator Module for Robots in MRI Scanners
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley（电气工程与计算机科学系，加州大学伯克利分校）；Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Industrial Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio（机械、航空航天与工业工程系，德克萨斯大学圣安东尼奥分校）；Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley（机械工程系，加州大学伯克利分校）
Maximize the Foot Clearance for a Hopping Robotic Leg Considering Motor Saturation
Shenzhen Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics for Society (AIRS)（深圳人工智能与社会机器人研究院（AIRS））；Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing (IRIM), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)（香港中文大学（CUHK）机器人与智能制造研究院（IRIM））；Beijing Institute of General Artificial Intelligence (BIGAI)（北京通用人工智能研究院（BIGAI））；Harbin Institute of Technology（哈尔滨工业大学）
End-to-End Control of a Powered Knee-Ankle Prosthesis Towards Unified, Tuning-Free Assistance
Georgia Institute of Technology（佐治亚理工学院）；Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering（伍德拉夫机械工程学院）；Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines（机器人与智能机器研究所）
FAST-Hex -- A Morphing Hexarotor: Design, Mechanical Implementation, Control and Experimental Validation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology（麻省理工学院）；LAAS-CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心系统分析与架构实验室）；Université de Toulouse（图卢兹大学）；CNRS（法国国家科学研究中心）；Politecnico di Milano（米兰理工大学）；University of Twente（特温特大学）
