Static Analysis and Design of Tendon-Driven Universal Joints for Robot Manipulators

This paper discusses the effective design of a tendon-driven universal joint. We developed the joint in our previous study. The problem with joint is that differential kinematics and statics are not simple. We present static analysis based on the model of the joint. The route of the tendon strings affects the performance of the joint. The results of the analysis show the significant tendency for the design of the joint. We show some design examples of the joints and an example of a robot finger using the joints.