Compliant, bi-stable mechanisms with multiple stiffnesses through controlled spring buckling

The ability to change stiffness is a capability exhibited through the animal kingdom, with many recent advances in tunable stiffness in the area of robotics. In this paper, we propose a mechanism design that provides the ability to make modular subcomponents with tunable stiffness by creating a bi-s...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) pp. 3074 - 3079
Main Authors LaFerriere, Brian, Schlect, Carson E., Swensen, John P.
Format Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published IEEE 01.05.2017
Subjects
Actuators
Force
Mathematical model
Potential energy
Prototypes
Robots
Springs
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The ability to change stiffness is a capability exhibited through the animal kingdom, with many recent advances in tunable stiffness in the area of robotics. In this paper, we propose a mechanism design that provides the ability to make modular subcomponents with tunable stiffness by creating a bi-stable mechanism that exhibits different stiffnesses in each of the stable configurations. The design is based on controlled buckling of two linear springs in series and allows design-time control over the stiffnesses, equilibrium points, and energy required to transition between the stable configurations.
DOI:10.1109/ICRA.2017.7989353