Design and Control of Variable Impedance Actuators for Physical Interaction of Robots with Humans and their Environment

There is a growing attention towards the design of actuators and transmission mechanisms that can make robots of the next generation to perform powerful, accurate and fast motion, while remaining at all times safe and keep the energy consumption low.

This half-day workshop will focus on a discussion on the design and control of variable impedance actuators in robotic applications in the field of manipulation, locomotion and rehabilitation.

Topics for contributions include but are not limited to:

• Hardware design for variable impedance actuation
• Safety analysis and injury indices in human-robot interaction in the variable compliance context
• Motion and stiffness control in the presence of variable compliance
• Mechanical-control co-design
• Energy efficient walking and running
• Application dependent planning of the adjustable stiffness value
• Planning safe and dependable robot motion
• Biologically inspired design and control of VIA actuators
• Experimental validation