In this paper, we describe modeling and control techniques for a real-world series-elastic actuated 1D hopping robot. There is an abundance of work regarding the implementation of highly simplified hopper models, with the hopes of extracting fundamental control ideas for running and hopping robots. However, real-world systems unfortunately cannot be accurately described by such simple models, a...

To fulfill the need for reliable and consistent medical training of neurological examination technique to assess ankle clonus, a series elastic actuator (SEA) based haptic simulator was proposed developed. The simulator's mechanism (a hybrid belt linkage drive) controller (impedance control) were designed render realistic safe environment. Benchtop tests demonstrated that prototype able accurat...

Humans hopping and running on elastic and damped surfaces maintain similar center-of-mass dynamics by adjusting stance leg mechanics. We tested the hypothesis that the leg transitions from acting like an energy-conserving spring on elastic surfaces to a power-producing actuator on damped surfaces during hopping due to changes in ankle mechanics. To test this hypothesis, we collected surface ele...

Recent studies demonstrate that flexible (compliant) structures are safer with respect to conventional stiff actuation systems [1-2] and are even capable of being more energy-efficient [3] or achieve better performances [4] if controlled properly. However, despite the proved benefits of compliance, the integration of actuators with passive fixed or variable stiffness within multi-DOF (MDOF) rob...

A widely used assumption within the gravitational-wave community has so far been that a test mass acts like a rigid body for frequencies in the detection band, i.e. for frequencies far below the first internal resonance. In this article we demonstrate that localized forces, applied for example by a photon pressure actuator, can result in a non-negligible elastic deformation of the test masses. ...

Despite the benefits of the robotic technologies on rehabilitation, human involvement is still critical. On the aspect of patients, they also need the supervision of the therapist as well as their active guidance and their expertise. In this paper, a novel master-slave rehabilitation system with force feedback and a meaningful training model for recovering the elbow joint function is presented....

The Rotary One-to-Many Project is aimed at designing and realizing an innovative novel actuator capable of emulating human muscle dexterity. This technology utilizes the “One-toMany” (OTM) concept, which allows a single artificial actuator to store energy in the form of elastic potential energy and drive multiple independently actuated and controlled degrees of freedom (DoF). This technology ma...

This work was performed within the DFG Research Training Group 1194 “Self-organizing Sensor-Actuator Networks” in the subproject I1 “Decentralized Reconstruction of Continuous Phenomena based on Space-Time Discrete Measurements”. One of the main applications for sensor networks is the observation, monitoring, and exploration of space-time continuous physical phenomena, such as temperature distr...

A soft ionic conductor can serve as an artificial nerve in an artificial muscle. A polyacrylamide hydrogel is synthesized containing a hygroscopic salt, lithium chloride. Two layers of the hydrogel are used as ionic conductors to sandwich a dielectric elastomer and fabricate a highly stretchable and transparent actuator. When the two layers of the hydrogels are subject to a voltage, the actuato...