Miniature High-torque Direct-Drive Actuators For Robot Hand Applications

To realize compact, light-weight robot hands with high-level dexterity, new actuators with im-proved dynamic performance and torque-to-weight ratio are needed. The objective of this research is to develop a new type of miniature high-torque direct-drive actuator (no gears) with high torque-to-weight ratio for the robot hand applications. The proposed actuator design uses novel vernier permanent magnet (VPM) for torque generation, which potentially can generate 2x torque comparing with regular permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) of the same size and weight.
If successful, this research can enable miniature direct-drive motors with 2x torque-to-weight ratio comparing with the conventional actuators without significant increase in cost, and thus benefit the development in robot hands and other robotic applications.