A MultiDOF HumanPowered Robot Using Regenerative Clutches and ConstantForce Springs In this paper, the development of a twodegreesoffreedom (DOF) humanpowered robot using regenerative clutches and constantforce springs is described. A regenerative clutch can control a transmitted torque precisely and it includes a regenerative brake and a differential gear mechanism. The singleclutch humanpowered jointdrive mechanism developed in this study is a system that can output forward and reverse torques and, to control the joint angle, performs servo control of the joint with one regenerative clutch by offsetting the torque using a constantforce spring. A crankspeedsensitive springlocking system has also been developed to implement a safe emergency stop function when the operator stops supplying power. The twoDOF humanpowered robot using our systems realized planar trajectory tracking, suggesting that the position control of the end point of a multiDOF humanpowered robot is possible.

Development of Joint Module with Twospeed Gear Transmission and Joint Lock Mechanism during Driving for Task Adaptable Robot In order to achieve tasks in the real world environment, humanoid robots have motors and reduction drives optimized in relation to weight and size for providing the necessary torque and angle speed. Therefore, having torque or angle speed outside of the predicted range will usually cause the task to fail. In this research, we propose a joint module with a twostage transmission mechanism during driving and a joint locking mechanism during nondriving so that the appropriate torque and joint speed can be attained during the task. By applying the joint module to a tricycle type robot and switching the driving state during the task execution, we were able to both reduce the motor load when lifting heavy objects at driving time and keep high rigidity of the joint at nondriving time.