The project will design and validate a tunable non-linear passive energy element that can be integrated into a robotic system.
The work starts by defining and optimising the element’s potential energy function so that it can produce an eigen manifold periodic motion in a double pendulum. Because the mechanical design is directly linked to this potential, a concept design is developed in parallel to check that the required energy curves are feasible.
After this, a 2-DoF double pendulum simulation with the designed element is used to test whether the desired eigen manifold-like motion is achieved. Based on these results, a physical prototype will be built and experimentally tested, first in a 1-DoF configuration with an end mass and, if time allows, in a 2-DoF double pendulum. The motivation is that practical, tunable non-linear passive elements are still rare in both research and practice. Such components can be used to practically test the effectiveness of eigen manifold-based motion but can also be applied to other potential-energy designs in robotic systems.