Development of synchronized control system through a pneumatic parallel mechanism and its 3D CG model

Abstract

This study developed a rehabilitation system that can improve the patient care services provided by physical therapists. Wristparalyzed patients were given arbitrary force through a six-Degree of freedom (6DoF) parallel mechanism composed of six pneumatic cylinders, and recovery training was performed. Each pneumatic cylinder was used to apply force control using a pulse width modulation control, and the force of the 6DoF direction was directed to the wrist of the patient. The thrust force of each cylinder and the force of the 6DoF direction of the parallel mechanism were analyzed. The analysis results conformed well to the experimental results. The developed rehabilitation system was designed to help a physical therapist remotely treat multiple patients at the same time. To monitor the operation of the parallel mechanism of each patient’s side, a 3D computer graphic model was created through OpenGL. The movement of this model was investigated to further examine the movement of the 6DoF direction of the parallel mechanism. Results confirmed that both movements can be controlled synchronously.