Rubber Muscle Research Articles

空気圧ゴム人工筋を用いた上肢動作支援ウェアラブルマスタスレーブ装置の開発

In this study, a bilateral type pneumatic wearable master-slave device has been developed in order to feed back a force information to the trainer. Developed device is constructed with a master and a slave device using pneumatic rubber muscles. By feeding back the reaction torque to a torque control system of the master device, a master device user can feel the reaction torque from the slave. In this paper, the structure of the developed device, the fundamental characteristics of device are discussed, and then the validity of the developed device is evaluated from the fundamental experiments.

11902 気液相変化駆動式ゴム人工筋アクチュエータの基礎特性(OS7 ロボティックス・メカトロニクス(1),オーガナイズドセッション)

11902 気液相変化駆動式ゴム人工筋アクチュエータの基礎特性(OS7 ロボティックス・メカトロニクス(1),オーガナイズドセッション)

Development of High Contractile Pneumatic Artificial Rubber Muscle for Power Assist Device

Development of High Contractile Pneumatic Artificial Rubber Muscle for Power Assist Device

1P1-G03 シート状空気圧ゴム人工筋を用いた肩部動作支援装置

In recent years, Japan is faced on the serious concerns of rapid aging and low birthrate, and as a result, the burden of care workers is increasing. Because it comes to be able to reduce the care worker's load by sending independently daily life of the people in need care, the development of the device is needed that supports the people in need care daily life in place of the care worker. In the study, the device supporting flection and abduction of shoulder that plays an important role in daily life as eating and lifting was developed. A comfortable shoulder operation support device was developed by using the sheet-liked pneumatic rubber muscle that is composed of a light and flexible material as an actuator because the sense of incompatibility was not given to the user when the device was installed and used in daily life. From the experimental result, it is confirmed that this device makes about 32 degrees of flection and 23 degrees of abduction possible. In this paper, the outline of the power assist device of shoulder and the effectiveness is described.

2P1-G19 空気圧人工筋肉を用いた大腸内視鏡搭載型蠕動運動ロボットの開発 : 並列空気チューブを用いた蠕動運動ロボット

The number of large intestine cancer patients has been continually increasing. An endoscope is used in diagnosis and also in treatment of a diseased part of an intestine. A large intestine endoscope is used mainly for the inspection of large intestine cancers. However, many doctors are having difficulty in handling an endoscope and remove slack of an intestine. Thus it is anticipated that robotic applications would assist those operations. We propose a robot that mimics the peristaltic crawling of earthworms uses artificial rubber muscle as an actuator. In this paper, we first carry out forward and pulling movement experiments in an acrylic pipe, then forward and pulling movement experiments in a large intestine model. We finally evaluate flexibility of the robot. Satisfactory performances were obtained from the experiments.

Development of a Simple Morphing Wing Using Elastomeric Composites as Skins and Actuators

Morphing wings are desired for their ability to reduce drag, to change flight characteristics, and perhaps to reduce weight by eliminating flap/aileron mechanisms. Development of two generations of a morphing wing project is documented. The work shows how a relatively low cost but realistic morphing wing test-bed can be fabricated. Wing skin, actuator, and actuator attachment development are discussed, as well as possible auxetic skin behavior. Aerodynamic characterization of the wing will be discussed in another paper. A very simple morphing wing was fabricated in generation one. The nose was able to elastically camber down approximately 25 deg and the tail 20 deg. Actuation was provided by three pneumatic “rubber muscle actuators” that produce high contractive/tensile forces. Upper and lower wing skins were fabricated from carbon fiber/polyurethane elastomer laminates. Lower skin buckling, actuator air leaks, and actuator attachment problems were resolved in the second generation. A finite element model of the second wing was developed and is being used to refine the morphing wing test-bed. The second wing fabrication methodology enabled smooth elastic cambering with no buckling or waviness in the skins. The nose cambered down 14 deg and the tail cambered down to 13 deg, and is capable of larger deformations. Improved leak-free biomimetic actuators and attach points now include no metal parts and have higher actuation forces due to new braided sheaths and functionally gradient matrix properties.

2A1-L14 空気圧人工筋肉を用いた大腸内視鏡搭載型蠕動運動ロボットの開発

The number of large intestine cancer patients has been increasing continually. An endoscope is used in diagnosis and also in treatment of the diseased part of the intestine. A large intestine endoscope is used mainly for the inspection of large intestine cancers. However, many doctors are experiencing issues in handling the endoscope. Thus robotic application is anticipated that would assist in inserting the endoscope and remove slack of the intestine. We propose a robot that mimics the peristaltic crawling of earthworms and uses artificial rubber muscle as an actuator. In this paper, we perform four experiments: 1) Determining the relationship between contraction/expansion rate and inner pressure of the artificial muscle; 2) forward movement test in an acrylic tube; 3) determining the robot's ability to pull an acrylic tube and 4) forward and pulling movement test in a large intestine model. Satisfactory performances were obtained from the experiments.

1P1-E15 空気圧ゴム人工筋を用いた外骨格型握力増幅グローブの開発

Recently, many power-assist robots have been developed to support and amplify human muscle strength. These robots are expected to use in various fields such as medical welfare, rescue, agriculture, physical labor in the factory and so on. In these activities, one hand is always in active to accomplish the task. Therefore, the hand assist device is useful. There are several researches to assist the hand. Pneumatic actuators are used because of high power weight ratio and light in weight. However, the degree of freedom (Dof) is yet to be enough. In this paper, a grip amplified glove using bi-articular driving mechanism is proposed and developed. Pneumatic artificial rubber muscles (PARM) are used as the actuator. The glove has totally 10 Dofs. The glove has the feature that the electrical sensors are away from the wearable part. Therefore, the glove is environmentally-resistant. The effectiveness of the glove is demonstrated experimentally.

1P1-K02 空気圧ゴム人工筋を用いた立ち上がり動作支援装置の開発

1P1-K02 空気圧ゴム人工筋を用いた立ち上がり動作支援装置の開発

2A2-D07 寝返り動作認識のためのMicro Macro Neural Networkの開発

We have developed the rollover support system. The core of this system is a pneumatic rubber muscle that is operated by EMG signals. Time Delay Neural Network (TDNN) is the traditional method for recognizing EMG signals. However, the response delay and false recognition are the problem of the traditional neural network. We proposed a new neural network, called the Micro-Macro Neural Network (MMNN), to recognize the rollover movement earlier and with more accuracy. MMNN is composed of a Micro Part, which detects rapid changes in the strength of the EMG signal, and a Macro Part, which detects the tendency of the EMG signal to continually increase or decrease. Recognition using MMNN is 40 [msec] (S.D. 49) faster than recognition using TDNN. Additionally, the number of false recognitions using MMNN is one-third of that using TDNN.

Chatter Attenuation for Pneumatic Artificial Rubber Muscles

Abstract Pneumatic artificial rubber muscles (Parms) are similar to biological muscles as both act as springs. Stiffness varies with pressure for the Parm and with neural impulse for the biological muscle. As a Parm system is highly non linear, its classical control does not reveal to be totally indicated. Robust control techniques such as variable structure controls generating sliding modes are quite indicated. However, sliding mode control although robust generates chattering as the control switches across the sliding manifold. In this work, two controls are applied onto a robot driven by Parms in order to reduce this undesirable chatter. The first law is a generalised variable structure algorithm while the second one is a 2-sliding law, the “twisting” algorithm. Experimental results are presented and discussed.

Remote control of backhoe at construction site with a pneumatic robot system

In this paper, remote control of backhoes is achieved at construction sites with a pneumatic robotic system we have developed. The system mainly consists of pneumatic robot arms actuated by pneumatic rubber muscles (PARM), CCD cameras and a control box containing power source, PC and wireless LAN boards. The remote control system was applied to two types of backhoe, one small with bucket size of 0.025 [m 3] and another medium-sized bucket with 0.28 [m 3]. Field tests were conducted at local construction sites to confirm the effectiveness of the system. The remote control operations were achieved with the working efficiency of more than 50% compared with that of the direct operation. The effectiveness of the system has been determined.

CHATTER REDUCTION IN AN ARTIFICIAL MUSCLES ROBOT APPLICATION

We are concerned with the control of a 3-DOF robot actuated by pneumatic rubber muscles. The system is highly non-linear and somehow difficult to model; variable structure system control imposes itself as a very relevant type of control. This paper presents two types of robust controls. One uses a classical variable structure (CVS) control associated to a PID control; the other is a derivative control. Both controllers are implemented on a robot driven by artificial rubber muscles. The goal is the comparison of the two controllers in their ability to reduce chatter. Experimental results are presented and discussed.

POWER ASSIST WEAR FOR UPPER LIMB DRIVEN BY SHEET-LIKE PNEUMATIC RUBBER MUSCLE

Along with declining birthrate and a growing proportion of elderly, to increase the number of people who requires nursing is anticipated. As a result, the shortage of the workers in medical welfare field is serious concerns in Japan. Then, if the wearable power assist device can be developed, many people can live independent life with a slight degree of assist. The purpose of this study is to develop a power assist wear to assist an activity of daily living of aged or disabled person. For the actuator, it is required to have a compact, light-weight and flexibility. Developed sheet-like curved type pneumatic rubber muscle is made of rubber band and has a high affinity for human skin. In this paper, the characteristics of the sheet-like curved type pneumatic rubber muscle and the power assist wear are described.

High-Order Sliding Modes for a Robot Driven by Pneumatic Artificial Rubber Muscles

It is known that classical sliding mode control generates chatter which is undesirable. One way to reduce this chatter is the use of high-order sliding mode (HOSM) control. The HOSM control techniques are applied to the first 2 d.o.f. of a robot actuated by pneumatic artificial rubber muscles (PARMs). The PARMs are arranged in opposite pairs (antagonistic configuration). The objective is to show that without the use of the equivalent control, it is still possible to control the robot by the use of HOSM and at the same time reduce the chatter. Experimental results are presented and comparison between two second-order sliding controls established.

1306 パワーアシスト装置に用いる高収縮型空気圧ゴム人工筋の開発(流体アクチュエータ,一般講演)

1306 パワーアシスト装置に用いる高収縮型空気圧ゴム人工筋の開発(流体アクチュエータ,一般講演)

シート状湾曲型空気圧ゴム人工筋の開発と肘部パワーアシストウェアへの応用

The purpose of this study is to develop a sheet-like curved type pneumatic rubber muscle and the power assist wear to assist an activity of daily living of aged or disabled person. In view of using the power assist wear in daily life, it is required to have compact, light-weight and flexibility. The developed sheet-liked curved type pneumatic rubber muscle is made of rubber band, and it has a high affinity for human skin. In this paper, the characteristics and the effectiveness of the sheet-liked curved type pneumatic rubber muscle and the developed power assist wear are described.

1A1-B07 ウェアラブルロボットに用いる高収縮型空気圧ゴム人工筋の開発(アクチュエータの機構と制御)

1A1-B07 ウェアラブルロボットに用いる高収縮型空気圧ゴム人工筋の開発(アクチュエータの機構と制御)

3201 シート状湾曲型空気圧ゴム人工筋を用いたパワーアシストグローブの開発(J22-1 次世代アクチュエータシステム(1),ジョイントセッション,21世紀地球環境革命の機械工学:人・マイクロナノ・エネルギー・環境)

3201 シート状湾曲型空気圧ゴム人工筋を用いたパワーアシストグローブの開発(J22-1 次世代アクチュエータシステム(1),ジョイントセッション,21世紀地球環境革命の機械工学:人・マイクロナノ・エネルギー・環境)

514 ゴム人工筋を用いたメカニカルシステムの開発とその応用(OS9-3 ロボティクス・メカトロニクスの技術(3),オーガナイズドセッション:9 ロボティクス・メカトロニクスの技術)

514 ゴム人工筋を用いたメカニカルシステムの開発とその応用(OS9-3 ロボティクス・メカトロニクスの技術(3),オーガナイズドセッション:9 ロボティクス・メカトロニクスの技術)