Elastic rotary actuator, particularly for robotic applications, and method for controlling the same

摘要

The actuator (10) includes: an output member (12) rotatable around an axis of rotation (X); an input member (14) rotatable around said axis of rotation (X) and connected for rotation with the output member (12) via a plurality of cylindrical helical springs (20, 20'), each interposed between the output member (12) and the input member (14) in a such way as to allow, due to their elastic deformation, a relative rotation between said members (12, 14) around said axis of rotation (X); a motor assembly (16, 18) arranged to drive the input member (14) to rotate around said axis of rotation (X); sensor means (38, 40) for detecting the angular position of the input member (14) and the relative angular position between the input member (14) and the output member (12); and an electronic control unit (ECU) arranged to determine a desired angular velocity (θ̇OD) of the input member (14) on the base of a desired value (ZD) for the impedance of the actuator (10) and to control the motor assembly (16, 18) on the base of the error between the desired angular velocity (θ̇OD) of the input member (14) and the angular velocity (θ̇Om) of the input member (14).