A 2 motor 2 degrees-of-freedom (2M2D) coupled tendon driven joint module is proposed as a basic component for robot arms. Torque reallocation via tendon coupling can enhance the output torque of one single joint. According to the motor position, the joint module is classified into four types: the externally-actuated structure, the internally-coaxially-actuated structure, the internally-separately-actuated structure, and the hybrid-actuated structure. The four structures are analyzed and compared, and their implementation design examples are given. Experiments comparing the proposed joint module with directly-actuated traditional joint suggested that the 2M2D coupled tendon-driven joint module can obtain high control accuracy, and the torque reallocation via tendon coupling is effective to improve output torque. Additionally, an anthropomorphic robot arm with low weight and high payload was developed to show the utility of the proposed joint module.
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