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Annual Conference Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems

TAROS 2020: Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems pp 3–14Cite as

A Scalable Variable Stiffness Revolute Joint Based on Layer Jamming for Robotic Exoskeletons

Part of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science book series (LNAI,volume 12228)

Abstract

Robotic exoskeletons have been a focal point of research due to an ever-increasing ageing population, longer life expectancy, and a desire to further improve the existing capabilities of humans. However, their effectiveness is often limited, with strong rigid structures poorly interfacing with humans and soft flexible mechanisms providing limited forces. In this paper, a scalable variable stiffness revolute joint is proposed to overcome this problem. By using layer jamming, the joint has the ability to stiffen or soften for different use cases. A theoretical and experimental study of maximum stiffness with size was conducted to determine the suitability and scalablity of this technology. Three sizes (50 mm, 37.5 mm, 25 mm diameter) of the joint were developed and evaluated. Results indicate that this technology is most suitable for use in human fingers, as the prototypes demonstrate a sufficient torque (0.054 Nm) to support finger movement.

Keywords

  • Variable stiffness
  • Layer jamming
  • Exoskeleton

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. REDS Lab, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, 25 Exhibition Road, London, SW7 2DB, UK

    Matthew Shen, Angus B. Clark & Nicolas Rojas

Authors
  1. Matthew Shen
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  2. Angus B. Clark
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  3. Nicolas Rojas
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew Shen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Dr. Abdelkhalick Mohammad

  2. Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Xin Dong

  3. Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Matteo Russo

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Shen, M., Clark, A.B., Rojas, N. (2020). A Scalable Variable Stiffness Revolute Joint Based on Layer Jamming for Robotic Exoskeletons. In: Mohammad, A., Dong, X., Russo, M. (eds) Towards Autonomous Robotic Systems. TAROS 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12228. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63486-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63486-5_1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63485-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-63486-5

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

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