Reduction in Controlled Degrees of Freedom for a Cable Driven Variable Stiffness Actuator

Variable Stiffness Actuators (VSAs) are a class of actuators that are implemented in dynamic environments which very often involve human interaction. A novel Cable Driven VSA has been developed. The current design has multiple actuated degrees of freedom (DOFs) which increases the complexity and the overall size and weight of the system. The thesis focuses on reducing these actuated DOFs by means of coupling them and improving the efficiency of the system.