Series damper actuator: a novel force/torque control actuator

Abstract

A novel force/torque control actuator called series damper actuator (SDA) is proposed, modeled and analyzed. Compared to conventional force/torque control schemes and series elastic actuator (SEA), SDA has good output force/torque fidelity, low output impedance and large force/torque range. Furthermore, varying damping coefficient endows the SDA with more advantages and makes the system more versatile. An experimental SDA system is developed, in which a magnetorheological (MR) fluid damper is employed as the series damper. The experimental results show that SDA system is an effective force/torque control actuator.