Recently, as robots and humans have increasingly come to share common spaces especially in the fields of the medicine and home automation, it has become necessary to consider the frequent physical contact of robots and humans. However, many robot joints have actuators with high-ratio gear trains. Therefore, when this type robot comes in to human contact, such a robot may cause pain.
This study describes the development of a manipulator using a smart flexible joint composed of an ER fluid. Further, a torque controller designed in light of human pain tolerance is applied to the soft manipulator. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the manipulator.