On the implementation of stiffness control on a manipulator using rubber actuators

This paper deals with the stiffness control problem for a manipulator actuated by rubber actuators. Two stiffness control methods, the adjusting /spl Delta/P method and the adjusting P/sub 0/ method are presented and studied. The adjusting P/sub 0/ method utilizes the intrinsic flexibility of the rubber actuator to realize the joint stiffness control, which is different from conventional force control methods. Both methods are demonstrated experimentally, and their feasibility is confirmed with experimental results.