Analysis on Torques of Shoulder and Elbow Joints of Humanoid Robot Arm for Lifting Tasks

This paper analyses the torque characteristics of the shoulder and elbow joints of a humanoid robot arm that is useful for an object lifting and transferring task instead of human beings. For the purpose, some typical human lifting behaviors are considered, and various simulations for lifting and transferring an object have been performed by employing a humanoid robot arm having a simple configuration of shoulder and elbow joints. Through the simulation, it is shown that the torque patterns and ranges of the shoulder and elbow joints required for such a humanoid lifting and transferring task can be found earlier in the design of a humanoid robot arm. As a result, this effort is useful for us to design an effective robot arm.