Development of a soft manipulator with flexible joints using smart fluid and Pneumatics cushion for collision with human

Abstract

Recently, as robots and humans have increasingly come to share common spaces, especially in the fields of the medical and home automation, it has become necessary to consider the frequent physical collision of robots and humans. However, many robot joints employ actuators with high-ratio gear trains. Therefore, when this type robot comes into human contact it may cause pain. This study describes the development of a manipulator using a smart flexible joint employing ER fluid and a pneumatic cushion having a sensor function. As well, position control and collision experiments were performed regarding the developed manipulator. The experimental results demonstrate the manipulator’s effectiveness.