Pleated pneumatic artificial muscles: compliant robotic actuators
نویسندگان
چکیده
Pleated pneumatic artificial muscles (PPAMs), which have recently been developed at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Department of Mechanical Engineering are brought forward as robotic actuators in this paper. Their distinguishing feature is their pleated design, as a result of which their contraction forces and maximum displacement are very high compared to other pneumatic artificial muscles. The PPAM design, operation and characteristics are presented. To show how well they are suited for robotics, a rotative joint actuator, made of two antagonistically coupled PPAMs, is discussed. It has several properties that are similar to those of skeletal joint actuators. Positioning tasks are seen to be performed very accurately using simple PI control. Furthermore, the antagonistic actuator can easily be made to have a soft or careful touch, contributing greatly to a safe robot operation. In view of all characteristics PPAMs are very well suited for automation and robotic applications.
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