Development and Evaluation of a Safety-Enhanced Magnetorheological Actuation Module for Cable-Driven Robots

Cable-driven systems are widely used in robotics due to their lightweight, low inertia, and high adaptability. However, existing actuation methods face challenges in compactness, safety, and modularity. This article presents the development and evaluation of a safety-enhanced modular magnetorheological (MR) actuation module for cable-driven systems. The proposed module employs MR fluid to achieve inherent safety by decoupling input and output inertia while enabling controllable torque transmission. The unit design supports dual-cable output and allows rapid reconfiguration via belt coupling for different application requirements. The principle of module driving and the optimization process of magnetorheological actuator is introduced in detail. Experimental results demonstrate that the actuation module provides reliable torque output and decoupling protection.