Design and development of variable stiffness actuator for legged robot

Nowadays, the number and variety of robotic systems that live together with humans to facilitate human life are increasing day to day. In the literature, this relationship is called robot-human and robot-environment interaction. The most important situation/problem is the safety of the robot, human or environment during the interaction. In recent years, trying to solve this issue, new types of actuators are designed. One of these actuator types is passive actuators also named mechanical actuators. They offer promising results. Also they are possible to use in legged robots. Legged robots are systems designed to be used in unknown environmental conditions. Due to their working environment, legged robots interacting with the environment can cause harm to themselves and the environment. In this thesis, it is mentioned about the design of an actuator to make the mobility of legged robots versatile. The designed actuator is light, compact, cheap and fast, which provides an advantage for legged robots. Also it will be able to adjust the flexibility of the robot.