{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T15:49:15Z","timestamp":1782920955460,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782864000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Key Scientific and Technological Research Projects in Henan Province","award":["252102221059"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["252102221059"]}]},{"name":"Key Scientific and Technological Research Projects in Henan Province","award":["262102221047"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["262102221047"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biomimetics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Inspired by the energy-efficient resonance strategy of the human elbow joint during periodic arm swing, this paper investigates the energy-saving motion and performance of a robotic variable stiffness joint. A modular stiffness adjustment mechanism with continuously adjustable stiffness based on Archimedean spiral grooves is proposed. A co-simulation model using MATLAB (R2022b)\/ADAMS (2020) is established, and dynamic equations are derived to reveal the correlation between resonance\/anti-resonance frequencies and joint rotational stiffness. Mimicking the biological principle of stiffness-frequency matching, an energy-saving controller leveraging the resonance effect is designed, which includes a motor energy consumption model to quantify losses and an optimization strategy to match the joint rotational stiffness with the load anti-resonance frequency. Simulation results demonstrate that in variable stiffness mode, aligning the system anti-resonance frequency with the task trajectory frequency significantly reduces joint energy consumption, validating the bioinspired approach. In contrast, the high-stiffness (rigid) mode leads to a surge in system energy consumption.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biomimetics11070458","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]],"date-time":"2026-07-01T12:41:38Z","timestamp":1782909698000},"page":"458","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Energy-Efficient Motion Simulation of a Bioinspired Variable Stiffness Joint Emulating Elbow Function for Periodic Tasks"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3824-8488","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yapeng","family":"Xu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-4437-6314","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kaishun","family":"Hao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Caidong","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Engineering Training Centre, Zhengzhou University of Light Industry, Zhengzhou 450002, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wenming","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Mechanical and Transportation Engineering, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, Beijing 102249, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"523","DOI":"10.1242\/jeb.024927","article-title":"Control and function of arm swing in human walking and running","volume":"212","author":"Pontzer","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. 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