Nov 2026· IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters· Vol 11, pp. 12456-12463· 0 citations· 38 references
Abstract
Quadruped dry-adhesive climbing robots require ankle joints to meet conflicting demands in adhesion and detachment. The ankle should be compliant to form conformal contact during adhesion, yet stiff to transmit peeling moments during detachment. Wall-angle uncertainty and varying peeling difficulty make fixed-stiffness ankles and passive compliance alone insufficient. This paper presents a miniaturized variable-stiffness ankle joint (VSAJ) that integrates a Kresling origami pneumatic actuator with granular jamming to enable rapid stiffness switching and active rotation for wall-angle compensation. Within an approximately 1 cm form factor, VSAJ achieves 2.4× tuning in bending stiffness, 2.6× tuning in torsional stiffness, and up to 0.16 rad of active rotation. Two adhesion strategies and two detachment strategies are developed and validated through single-leg experiments and full-robot climbing demonstrations. The results show robust, versatile, and high-performance adhesion and detachment.
Enhancing contact compliance and task flexibility is essential for expanding the real‐world use of robotic systems. This paper presents a modular collaborative robot system that combines antagonistic actuation with hybrid soft–rigid variable‐stiffness components, including a modular variable‐stiffness bending joint (mv...
Wenlong Gaozhang, Yue Li, Jia-Lei Shi et al.· Advancement of science· 0 citations
Variable-stiffness compliant joints are key components for enhancing robot safety and environmental adaptability. Existing compliant joints face challenges in applications such as precision assembly, including fixed stiffness that cannot be adjusted, structurally complex and costly active stiffness-variation solutions....
Ying-Hao Ning, Jia-Cheng Zheng, Jia-Qing Yin et al.· 2026 International Conferenc...· 0 citations
Soft robotic arms, which are most commonly constructed from fluid-driven actuators, have demonstrated a high degree of compliance and the ability to move in simple and complex ways, from single bends to whole-arm gripping to drawer opening. However, their practical applications have been constrained by limited load-bea...
Yu-Chen Kang, Gina Olson· IEEE Robotics and Automation...· 0 citations
Compliant mechanisms provide compact and intrinsic structural compliance for regulating physical interactions between mechanisms and environments. However, different tasks demand distinct stiffness characteristics, often requiring task-specific optimization and redesign due to limited geometric design space and inheren...
Si-Yue Yao, Xiao-Chi Xie, Shi-Xuan Zhao et al.· 0 citations
Variable stiffness actuators based on jamming methodologies have been widely utilized in the field of soft robotics, enabling effective transitions between compliant and rigid states under varying operational conditions. This capability significantly enhances both stiffness modulation and gripping performance, thereby...
Ibrahim A. Seleem, Samy F. M. Assal, Hiroshi Takemura· IEEE International Symposium...· 0 citations
The utility of flexible continuum mechanisms for dexterous navigation is often impaired by their low stiffness, making them ineffective at manipulation in high-force scenarios. To address this challenge, we propose a novel continuum mechanism that achieves both flexible and rigid behavior by antagonistic extension and...
Katelyn King, Veronica Fish, Allison M. Okamura· 0 citations
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