Development of antagonistic wire-driven joint mechanism capable of rapid motion and variable stiffness

The advancement of digital transformation in manufacturing is expected to demand novel tasks for industrial machinery unlike before.When adding mechanisms or actuators to enhance machine functionality, concerns arise about potential system enlargement and increased complexity.The design concept of integrating multiple functions into mechanisms using a few actuators and components serves as one means to address these issues.We aim to elucidate the structural arrangement capable of achieving three functions, including normal motion, rapid motion, and variable stiffness, using two electric actuators.In this paper, we introduce a newly devised antagonistic wiredriven joint mechanism aimed at improving the variable stiffness function within the articulated mechanism we have developed, enabling three functionalities.