Output Force Enhancement of Finger-type Manipulator by Adopting Brushless DC Motors for Sliding Actuation

Abstract

In this paper, we newly develop a finger-type manipulator driven by the sliding actuation with miniaturized brushless DC (BLDC) motors. The mechanism allows the usage of the maximal capacity of actuators by employing the distributed actuation principle while maintaining the small size. Thanks to the high thrust force of the BLDC motors, the maximum fingertip force of the developed robot finger is remarkably enhanced. Through experimentation, the fingertip force of the proposed robot finger is assessed and compared with the former version with the ultrasonic motors.