Calibration study of a continuously variable transmission system designed for pHRI

Abstract

Variable stiffness actuators (VSAs) have been used in many applications of physical human-robot interfaces (pHRI). A commonly employed design is the spring-based VSA allowing the user to regulate the output force mechanically. The main design criteria of these actuation systems are the adjustment of output force independent from the output motion, and shock absorbing. In our recent work, we implemented certain modifications on the two-cone friction drive continuously variable transmission system (CVT) so that the CVT can be employed in pHRI systems. Subsequently, the optimized prototype is developed. In this study, we introduce the prototype of this new CVT systems, and its force calibration tests. The results indicate that the manufactured CVT is capable of displaying the desired output force throughout its transmission ratio range within a tolerance. © 2020, The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.