Human knee–inspired robotic joints correct 99% misalignment, lend triple grip strength
A team of engineers at Harvard University has created a new approach for designing robotic joints that replicate those in the human knee, potentially leading to more efficient robots and stronger grippers.
The new approach reportedly employs rolling contact joints, which are pairs of curved surfaces that roll and slide against each other and are held together with flexible connectors.
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During trials, a knee-like joint enhanced with the new approach corrected misalignment by 99% when compared with a standard joint.
Meanwhile, a two-finger robotic gripper also enhanced with the new approach could reportedly hold over three times the weight of a gripper built with standard circular joints and pulleys for the same actuator input.