Differential-Damper Topologies for Actuators in Rehabilitation Robotics

• Presented at: 34th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, San Diego, California, USA, August 28-September 1, 2012
• Published in: Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS, p. 3081-3085
• Publication date: 2012

Differential-damper (DD) elements can provide a high bandwidth means for decoupling a high inertia, high friction, non-backdrivable actuator from its output and can enable high fidelity force control. In this paper, a port-based decomposition is used to analyze the energetic behavior of such actuators in various physical domains. The general concepts are then applied to a prototype DD actuator for illustration and discussion. It is shown that, within physical bounds, the output torque from a DD actuator can be controlled independently from the input speed. This concept holds the potential to be scaled up and integrated in a compact and lightweight package powerful enough for incorporation with a portable lower limb orthotic or prosthetic device. © 2012 IEEE.

Reference

• Detailed record: https://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/180980?ln=en
• EPFL-CONF-180980
• doi:10.1109/EMBC.2012.6346615