Key point
・The light and soft material is capable of generating high power, making it suitable for rehabilitation equipment and power-assist devices for the human body, which require safety.
・It can also be driven in powder and water, so it is expected to be used as an alternative for pneumatic cylinders in factories.
・It can also be driven in powder and water, so it is expected to be used as an alternative for pneumatic cylinders in factories.
Benefit
The advantages of pneumatic rubber artificial muscles are as follows:
・High output density can be achieved even with lightweight.
・Can be used in water and has excellent environmental resistance.
・Easy to maintain as there are no sliding parts.
・Flexible and has characteristics similar to muscle properties.
・Low cost of material.
・High output density can be achieved even with lightweight.
・Can be used in water and has excellent environmental resistance.
・Easy to maintain as there are no sliding parts.
・Flexible and has characteristics similar to muscle properties.
・Low cost of material.
The advantages of this artificial muscle compared to the Mckibben type artificial muscles are as follows:
・Has more than 8-fold larger contraction force (0.5 MPa or more) under the same pressure.
・Possible to reduce the diameter to about 1 mm. ・High durability because the rubber does not wear.
・Has more than 8-fold larger contraction force (0.5 MPa or more) under the same pressure.
・Possible to reduce the diameter to about 1 mm. ・High durability because the rubber does not wear.
Market Application
[Robot Hands]
Robot hands are classified according to their driving method into two types:
the built-in actuator type, in which actuators are installed inside each joint,
and the wire-connected type, in which actuators are placed outside of the hand and driven via a wire.
The former is heavy because it has a built-in motor, and the stiffness of the joint cannot be changed.
The latter has the disadvantage that the structure becomes more complicated, for it is affected by the movement of the arm.
Thus, we developed a robot hand with a wire-type pneumatic rubber artificial muscle with axial fiber-reinforced rubber artificial muscles built into the hand as an actuator.
This robot hand has the advantages of lighter weight, flexible joints, simple mechanism and no large space requirement for the drive system compared to other robot hands.
the built-in actuator type, in which actuators are installed inside each joint,
and the wire-connected type, in which actuators are placed outside of the hand and driven via a wire.
The former is heavy because it has a built-in motor, and the stiffness of the joint cannot be changed.
The latter has the disadvantage that the structure becomes more complicated, for it is affected by the movement of the arm.
Thus, we developed a robot hand with a wire-type pneumatic rubber artificial muscle with axial fiber-reinforced rubber artificial muscles built into the hand as an actuator.
This robot hand has the advantages of lighter weight, flexible joints, simple mechanism and no large space requirement for the drive system compared to other robot hands.
[Multi-Freedom Manipulator]
We developed joint arrangement and working range similar to that of a human arm as a 6-degree-of-freedom (DOF) manipulator with 3-DOF for the shoulder, 1-DOF for the elbow and 2-DOF for the wrist.
This manipulator has soft joints and is very light in weight of only about 2 kg, making it safe and easy to use, suitable for cooperative activities with humans.[Artificial Muscle Manipulator Using MR Fluid]We developed an artificial muscle manipulator by applying MR fluid, instead of air pressure. MR fluid is a functional fluid that reversibly alters its apparent viscosity with a high response speed (in milliseconds) by applying magnetic field.
This manipulator has soft joints and is very light in weight of only about 2 kg, making it safe and easy to use, suitable for cooperative activities with humans.[Artificial Muscle Manipulator Using MR Fluid]We developed an artificial muscle manipulator by applying MR fluid, instead of air pressure. MR fluid is a functional fluid that reversibly alters its apparent viscosity with a high response speed (in milliseconds) by applying magnetic field.