Development of an anthropomorphic force-controlled manipulator WAM-10

This paper describes the development and evaluation of an anthropomorphic force-controlled manipulator WAM-10 (Waseda Automatic Manipulator-10). The manipulator consists of a seven degree-of-freedom (DOF) arm and a thirteen-DOF four-fingered hand. The goal of WAM-10 is the realization of human-robot symbiosis and collaboration for ensuring collision safety. The developed arm employs an original joint mechanism, called the mechanical impedance adjuster, which can realize ideal compliance and safety motion. The hand is designed with consideration of human interactive tasks. Results of the evaluation experiments show that the WAM-10 has the capability of realizing high performance in compliant motion control.