Design and research of rack-based variable stiffness actuator

Joint actuator plays an important role in improving the robot adaptability in unstructured environment and reducing energy consumption. According to the task, the rack-based variable stiffness actuator can adjust the joint stiffness in real time. The working principle of the rack-based variable stiffness actuator is elaborated and the mechanical design is presented. Through simulation and experiments, the validity of the rack-based variable stiffness actuator is proved. The rack-based variable stiffness actuator can effectively reduce the overall volume of the actuator and has a large adjustment range with short adjustment time.