The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven Robots
Tendon-driven robots offer advantages in terms of their compliance, lightweight design, and remote actuation, making them ideal for applications requiring dexterity and safety. However, existing tendon-driven actuators often suffer from low integration and inaccurate proprioceptive sensing due to th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Actuators |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/6/278 |
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| author | Di Zhao Xinbo Wang Fanbo Wei Lei Ren Kunyang Wang Luquan Ren |
| author_facet | Di Zhao Xinbo Wang Fanbo Wei Lei Ren Kunyang Wang Luquan Ren |
| author_sort | Di Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Tendon-driven robots offer advantages in terms of their compliance, lightweight design, and remote actuation, making them ideal for applications requiring dexterity and safety. However, existing tendon-driven actuators often suffer from low integration and inaccurate proprioceptive sensing due to their complex pulley-based tension sensors and bulky angle sensors. This paper presents the design and control of a compact and proprioceptive modular tendon-driven actuator. The actuator features a simplified single-pulley tension sensing mechanism and a novel maze-slot fixation method, minimizing friction and maximizing the structural integrity. A 3D Hall effect sensor is employed for accurate estimation of the tendon length with minimal space usage. A feedforward PID controller and a model-based tendon length observer are proposed to enhance the dynamic performance and sensing accuracy. Bench tests demonstrate that the actuator achieves a high power density (0.441 W/g), accurate closed-loop tension control, and reliable tendon length estimations. The proposed design provides a practical and high-performance solution for tendon-driven robots, enabling more agile, compact, and robust robotic systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-909bc0742dab46c5893d60d4ab91e816 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-0825 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Actuators |
| spelling | doaj-art-909bc0742dab46c5893d60d4ab91e8162025-08-20T03:24:26ZengMDPI AGActuators2076-08252025-06-0114627810.3390/act14060278The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven RobotsDi Zhao0Xinbo Wang1Fanbo Wei2Lei Ren3Kunyang Wang4Luquan Ren5Key Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaKey Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, ChinaTendon-driven robots offer advantages in terms of their compliance, lightweight design, and remote actuation, making them ideal for applications requiring dexterity and safety. However, existing tendon-driven actuators often suffer from low integration and inaccurate proprioceptive sensing due to their complex pulley-based tension sensors and bulky angle sensors. This paper presents the design and control of a compact and proprioceptive modular tendon-driven actuator. The actuator features a simplified single-pulley tension sensing mechanism and a novel maze-slot fixation method, minimizing friction and maximizing the structural integrity. A 3D Hall effect sensor is employed for accurate estimation of the tendon length with minimal space usage. A feedforward PID controller and a model-based tendon length observer are proposed to enhance the dynamic performance and sensing accuracy. Bench tests demonstrate that the actuator achieves a high power density (0.441 W/g), accurate closed-loop tension control, and reliable tendon length estimations. The proposed design provides a practical and high-performance solution for tendon-driven robots, enabling more agile, compact, and robust robotic systems.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/6/278tendon-driven actuatorproprioceptionmodel-based control |
| spellingShingle | Di Zhao Xinbo Wang Fanbo Wei Lei Ren Kunyang Wang Luquan Ren The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven Robots Actuators tendon-driven actuator proprioception model-based control |
| title | The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven Robots |
| title_full | The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven Robots |
| title_fullStr | The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven Robots |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven Robots |
| title_short | The Design and Control of a Proprioceptive Modular Actuator for Tendon-Driven Robots |
| title_sort | design and control of a proprioceptive modular actuator for tendon driven robots |
| topic | tendon-driven actuator proprioception model-based control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0825/14/6/278 |
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