Estimation of Arm Stiffness Using Force Information of a Hand in Contact with a Highly Rigid Environment

Abstract

Estimating human stiffness is crucial for achieving precise robotic manipulation through variable impedance control. For in order to enable a robot to replicate human-like stiffness, it is essential to have a comprehensive understanding of the stiffness characteristics exhibited by humans during different tasks. Consequently, the development of an estimation method becomes imperative. One significant challenge in estimating human stiffness is to accurately assess arm stiffness when it is in contact with a highly rigid environment. Therefore, this study aimed to devise a method to estimate the stiffness of the human arm during contact with such environments. The proposed approach involves an equation for estimating arm stiffness using force information obtained from the human hand.