Study on electric energy consumed in intermittent series–parallel elastic actuators (iSPEA)

Mathijssen, Glenn; Furnémont, Raphaël; Verstraten, Tom; Espinoza, Cyprian; Beckers, Simon; Lefeber, Dirk; Vanderborght, Bram

doi:10.1088/1748-3190/aa664d

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Both concepts are discussed in more detail in section 2. Motor working points (red) on the theoretical efficiency map for a stiff actuator placed in the elbow joint of a warehouse robot [32]. By changing the gear ratio, speed can be traded for torque.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction of a redundant actuator using planetary gear trains for human centred robotics

et al. 2020

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Matching motor efficiency and performance with the load demands can significantly improve the overall efficiency of a driveline. Inspired by the automotive sector -with the high interest of hybrid and electric cars currently-, the authors have studied how state of the art technologies can be used in the relatively new field of collaborative and Human centred robotics. Multiple transmission systems have been considered, among others redundant actuators (both static and kinematic) and continuously variable transmissions. Based on these findings and the experience of the research group on customised planetary gear trains for Human Limb Assistance and Replication, an extensive review of existing redundant actuators is presented in combination with an alternative transmission system which does not need any auxiliary gear transmissions and hence can be lighter and more compact than state of the art drivelines for Human centred robotics. A calculation was performed -including the efficiency model presented by Müller- which shows the high potential of this type of dual-motor actuator.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction of a redundant actuator using planetary gear trains for human centred robotics

et al. 2020

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“…Furthermore, there is a trend in robotic research towards more complex actuators consisting of multiple springs and geared motors. Advantages of such concepts include increased energy efficiency [3][4][5], fault-tolerance, impedance [6] and accuracy [7]. However, the usefulness of the additional components must be evaluated against the total weight and volume of the system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling laws for parallel motor-gearbox arrangements

Saerens

Crispel

García

et al. 2020

2020 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS)

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Research towards (compliant) actuators, especially redundant ones like the Series Parallel Elastic Actuator (SPEA), has led to the development of drive trains, which have demonstrated to increase efficiency, torque-to-mass-ratio, power-to-mass ratio, etc. In the field of robotics such drive trains can be implemented, enabling technological improvements like safe, adaptable and energy-efficient robots. The choice of the used motor and transmission system, as well as the compliant elements composing the drive train, are highly dependent of the application and more specifically on the allowable weight and size. In order to optimally design an actuator adapted to the desired characteristics and the available space, scaling laws governing the specific actuator can simplify and enhance the reliability of the design process. Although scaling laws of electric motors and links are known, none have been investigated for a complete redundant drive train. The present study proposes to fill this gap by providing scaling laws for electric motors in combination with their transmission system. These laws are extended towards parallelization, i.e. replacing one big motor with gearbox by several smaller ones in parallel. The results of this study show that the torque/mass ratio for a motor-gearbox can not be increased by parallelization, but that it can increase the torque/volume ratio. This is however only the case if a good topology is chosen.

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“…This principle of parallelization is used in the Series Parallel Elastic Actuator (SPEA) [28]. This type of actuator shows even better properties in terms of energy efficiency [29] than standard compliant actuators, like e.g. SEAs [1].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scaling laws of compliant elements for high energy storage capacity in robotics

Saerens

Furnémont

Verstraten

et al. 2019

Mechanism and Machine Theory

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The key component in compliant actuators is the elastic element, typically a spring. Nevertheless, different types of springs have different characteristics in terms of size, weight, maximum allowable force, maximum allowable torque and maximum allowable deflection. It is however very important to compare them on these requirements, since each application has other demands. In this paper, the energy storage capacity of different types of compliant elements are calculated using scaling laws in order to easily derive the maximum achievable energy capacity for a certain arrangement. These scaling laws are given as a function of the structural parameters and are validated with catalog data of spring manufacturers and distributors such as Alcomex, Lesjöfors and Century Spring. As such, different types of compliant elements can be compared in an easy way. To fully exploit the capabilities of compliant elements, these scaling laws are used to verify the effect of spring parallelization on mass and/or enclosed volume, which is interesting regarding redundant compliant actuation. From theoretical calculations and a case study, it follows that parallelization is beneficial, especially for mass reduction.

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Study on electric energy consumed in intermittent series–parallel elastic actuators (iSPEA)

Cited by 6 publications

References 33 publications

Introduction of a redundant actuator using planetary gear trains for human centred robotics

Introduction of a redundant actuator using planetary gear trains for human centred robotics

Scaling laws for parallel motor-gearbox arrangements

Scaling laws of compliant elements for high energy storage capacity in robotics

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