Design, Modeling, and Experimental Verification of a Fully Decoupled Tendon-Driven Humanoid Arm.

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Biomimetics
• Mechanical Engineering

Background:

• Human upper-limb movement relies on antagonistic muscle-tendon actions for controlled motion.
• Existing robotic arms often require complex models for joint space control.
• Biomimetic designs offer potential for more intuitive and efficient robotic manipulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a fully decoupled tendon-driven humanoid arm (FDTDH-Arm) inspired by human upper-limb mechanics.
• To achieve joint space decoupling at the mechanical level, reducing reliance on complex control algorithms.
• To validate the performance of a prototype FDTDH-Arm through experimental testing.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel FDTDH-Arm utilizing antagonistic actuation and joint regulation for mechanical decoupling.
• Established joint-level and whole-arm kinematic models to analyze motion behavior under rolling constraints.
• Constructed and experimentally validated a prototype of the proposed humanoid arm.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated effective mechanical joint space decoupling in the FDTDH-Arm prototype.
• Achieved passive joint stiffness comparable to the human upper limb.
• Recorded a mean positioning error of 0.40 mm and a maximum end effector velocity of 3.62 m/s.

Conclusions:

• The FDTDH-Arm offers a mechanically implemented, biomimetic solution for humanoid manipulation.
• The design enables precise and rapid movements suitable for human-interactive environments.
• Mechanical joint decoupling via antagonistic actuation is a viable strategy for advanced robotic arms.