Abstract
A prototype of a variable stiffness joints drive module is presented in this paper. Although human beings adjust the stiffness of their joints depending on a task, most joints of current robotic arms are very stiff and not variable. The joints are usually driven by motors through gear trains and the reduction ration is high. This mechanism causes the high-stiffness of the joints. In order to provide human-like characteristic for robots, you should make the stiffness of joints variable. The module we are developing will be used to realize a robot with joints whose stiffness is variable. The robot can adjust the stiffness of joints depending on a given task like a human being. In this paper, the first prototype of the module is described, and results of the experiments that were conducted to verify the variable stiffness are shown.
