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

• Published in: 2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) pp. 3074 - 3079
• Main Authors: LaFerriere, Brian, Schlect, Carson E., Swensen, John P.
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Actuators; Force; Mathematical model; Potential energy; Prototypes; Robots; Springs

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...