Pace Running of a Quadruped Robot Driven by Pneumatic Muscle Actuators: An Experimental Study

Fukuoka, Yasuhiro; Komatsu, Ryunosuke; Machii, Kenta; Yokota, Masaaki; Tobe, Masaki; Ibrahim, Ahmad Najmuddin; Fukui, Tsuguya; Habu, Yasushi

doi:10.3390/app12094146

Cited by 9 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Andrikopoulos and Manesis [137] discussed the development and control of a vertical climbing robot, which is actuated with the help of four PAMs. Fukuoka et al [138] developed a quadruped robot with realistic legs driven by PAMs for achieving a running gait and designing a controller for the same. Shadow Robot Co., London.…”

Section: Biorobotic Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on the Development of Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Actuators: Force Model and Application

2022

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Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are soft and flexible linear pneumatic actuators which produce human muscle like actuation. Due to these properties, the muscle actuators have an adaptable compliance for various robotic platforms as well as medical applications. While a variety of possible actuation schemes are present, there is still a need for the development of a soft actuator that is very light-weight, compact, and flexible with high power-to-weight ratio. To achieve this, the development of the PAM actuators has become an interesting topic for many researchers. In this review, the development of the different kinds of PAM available to date are presented along with manufacturing process and the operating principle. The various force models for artificial muscle presented in the literature are broadly reviewed with the constraints. Furthermore, the applications of PAM are included and classified based on the fields of biorobotics, medicine, and industry, along with advanced medical instrumentation. Finally, the needful improvements in terms of the dynamics of the muscle are discussed for the precise control of the PAMs as per the requirements for the applications. This review will be helpful for researchers working in the field of robotics and for designers to develop new type of artificial muscle depending on the applications.

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Section: Biorobotic Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Review on the Development of Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Actuators: Force Model and Application

2022

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“…For example, the soft-rigid hybrid quadruped robot in refs. [41, 42] adapted to speed variation by adjusting its stride and cyclic duration, but the robot needs human assistance during walking. Further, with the rigid exoskeleton providing structural support and the soft pneumatic joints providing actuation and inherent compliance to external forces, soft-rigid hybrid-legged robots, including bipedal robots [43, 44], quadruped robots [45, 47], and hexapod robots [48], with simple gaits were proposed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Force analysis of a soft-rigid hybrid pneumatic actuator and its application in a bipedal inchworm robot

Jiang,

Zhang

2024

Robotica

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This paper systematically investigates a soft-rigid hybrid pneumatic actuator (SRHPA), which consists of a rigid-foldable twisting skeleton capable of a large range of helical motion and a soft bellows muscle with high linear driving force. Considering the unique varying-pitch helical motion of the foldable skeleton, the analytical model mapping the input force generated by the bellows muscle and output forces of the actuator is revealed and verified with a simulation of the force analysis. Prototypes of the actuator are developed by fabricating the twisting skeleton with multilayered aluminum composite panels and 3D-printing the bellows muscle with thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) 95A filament. The static and dynamic performances of the prototypes are tested to validate the analytical modeling of output forces. Using the actuator as a module, a novel bipedal inchworm robot with four modules is developed and tested to demonstrate its adaptability in confined space by switching between the going-straight, the turning-around, and the rotating gaits. The hybrid actuator and the inchworm robot with zero onboard electronics have the potential to be deployed in extreme environments where pneumatically actuated systems are preferred over electrical machines and drives, such as in nuclear and explosive environments.

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“…For the patient’s safety and control of their interaction with these mechanical apparatus, force, length, and pressure sensors must be employed for the real-time control and actuation of the artificial muscles. In this sense, small force and pressure lightweight sensors are commercially available; in contrast, length sensors are typically bulky and not so easy to install in wearable devices [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ]. However, several solutions have been reported in literature aimed to embed length sensors in pneumatic muscles [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Current-Mode Analog Front-End for Capacitive Length Transducers in Pneumatic Muscle Actuators

Di Patrizio Stanchieri,

De Marcellis,

Faccio

et al. 2024

Micromachines

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This paper reports on the design, implementation, and characterization of a current-mode analog-front-end circuit for capacitance-to-voltage conversion that can be used in connection with a large variety of sensors and actuators in industrial and rehabilitation medicine applications. The circuit is composed by: (i) an oscillator generating a square wave signal whose frequency and pulse width is a function of the value of input capacitance; (ii) a passive low-pass filter that extracts the DC average component of the square wave signal; (iii) a DC-DC amplifier with variable gain ranging from 1 to 1000. The circuit has been designed in the current-mode approach by employing the second-generation current conveyor circuit, and has been implemented by using commercial discrete components as the basic blocks. The circuit allows for gain and sensitivity tunability, offset compensation and regulation, and the capability to manage various ranges of variations of the input capacitance. For a circuit gain of 1000, the measured circuit sensitivity is equal to 167.34 mV/pF with a resolution in terms of capacitance of 5 fF. The implemented circuit has been employed to measure the variations of the capacitance of a McKibben pneumatic muscle associated with the variations of its length that linearly depend on the circuit output voltage. Under step-to-step conditions of movement of the pneumatic muscle, the overall system sensitivity is equal to 70 mV/mm with a standard deviation error of the muscle length variation of 0.008 mm.

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Pace Running of a Quadruped Robot Driven by Pneumatic Muscle Actuators: An Experimental Study

Cited by 9 publications

References 29 publications

A Review on the Development of Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Actuators: Force Model and Application

A Review on the Development of Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Actuators: Force Model and Application

Force analysis of a soft-rigid hybrid pneumatic actuator and its application in a bipedal inchworm robot

A Current-Mode Analog Front-End for Capacitive Length Transducers in Pneumatic Muscle Actuators

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