Statistical analysis of muscle-actuated manipulators

A statistical analysis of biomechanical manipulators is presented. The approach presented stems from studies of the properties of joint-actuated manipulators. Motivated by the kinesiological aspects of the human arm, it is demonstrated that biomechanical structures have better performances than standard manipulators. In fact, joint-actuated robotic structures are non-optimal because they have to support the direct impact of the operational requirements, while muscle-actuated arms are superior because they have anatomic levers and actuators more adapted to the transients required by the operational tasks. Therefore, these results are a step towards the design of a new generation of better mechanical manipulators