Hybrid actuator combining shape memory alloy with DC motor for prosthetic fingers

Abstract Direct Current (DC) motors are widely used in prosthetic hands. Since the power to weight ratio of DC motors is relatively low, the driving systems are usually bulky and heavy to meet the requirements for the grasping speed and force. However, high grasping speed is a basic requirement for the grasping reflex to prevent the grasped object from slipping. With increasing force, the possibility that grasped objects will slip off is significantly reduced. This study proposes a hybrid actuator combining shape memory alloy (SMA) with a micro DC motor for a prosthetic finger. The SMA is used to improve reflex speed. Rapid response can be achieved when SMA is subjected to high voltage. Experimental results show that in the grasping reflex, the rate of force is increased four times, and the sliding displacement of the grasped object subjected to unexpected disturbances is reduced from 10 mm to 5.7 mm.

[1]  Christian Pylatiuk,et al.  Development of a miniaturised hydraulic actuation system for artificial hands , 2008 .

[2]  Maria Chiara Carrozza,et al.  Biomechatronic Design and Control of an Anthropomorphic Artificial Hand for Prosthetic and Robotic Applications , 2007 .

[3]  Gianluca Palli,et al.  Development of UB Hand 3: Early Results , 2005, Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[4]  Martin B.G. Jun,et al.  Fuzzy PWM-PID control of cocontracting antagonistic shape memory alloy muscle pairs in an artificial finger , 2011 .

[5]  Kenjiro Takemura,et al.  Concept of a micro finger using electro-conjugate fluid and fabrication of a large model prototype , 2007 .

[6]  M. Faulkner,et al.  Experimental characterization of free convection during thermal phase transformations in shape memory alloy wires , 2002 .

[7]  Paolo Dario,et al.  Experimental analysis of an innovative prosthetic hand with proprioceptive sensors , 2003, 2003 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.03CH37422).

[8]  S. Naumann,et al.  Multiple finger, passive adaptive grasp prosthetic hand , 2001 .

[9]  Haruhisa Kawasaki,et al.  Dexterous anthropomorphic robot hand with distributed tactile sensor: Gifu hand II , 2002 .

[10]  Yoji Umetani,et al.  The Development of Soft Gripper for the Versatile Robot Hand , 1978 .

[11]  M. Goldfarb,et al.  Design of a Multifunctional Anthropomorphic Prosthetic Hand With Extrinsic Actuation , 2009, IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics.

[12]  Inhyuk Moon,et al.  Lightweight prosthetic hand with five fingers using SMA actuator , 2011, 2011 11th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems.

[13]  Akihiro Yamaguchi,et al.  A robot hand using electro-conjugate fluid , 2011 .

[14]  Kyu-Jin Cho,et al.  SBC Hand: A Lightweight Robotic Hand with an SMA Actuator Array implementing C-segmentation , 2007, Proceedings 2007 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[15]  Daisuke Sasaki,et al.  Development of Pneumatic Soft Robot Hand for Human Friendly Robot , 2003, J. Robotics Mechatronics.

[16]  Lina,et al.  Fuzzy-Appearance Manifold and Fuzzy-Nearest Distance Calculation for Model-Less 3D Pose Estimation of Degraded Face Images , 2013 .

[17]  Edward J. Park,et al.  A shape memory alloy-based tendon-driven actuation system for biomimetic artificial fingers, part I: design and evaluation , 2009, Robotica.

[18]  Roseleena Jaafar,et al.  Hybrid-Actuated Finger Prosthesis with Tactile Sensing , 2013 .

[19]  Craig A. Rogers,et al.  One-Dimensional Thermomechanical Constitutive Relations for Shape Memory Materials , 1990 .

[20]  Carlos Balaguer,et al.  Design and development of a light weight embodied robotic hand activated with only one actuator , 2005, 2005 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.