Development of a Silicon Outer Fence Mold Actuator with Human Compatibility

When elderly people use welfare machines or rehabilitation machines, they lean on the supporter of the machine. Since the user hold the supporter at the same locus to prevent slipping from the supporter, they sometimes feel pains at the contact point. In this paper, we propose a new type of active supporter (Silicon Outer Fence Mold Actuator) which sponge is covered with silicon rubber. Since the stiffness of the active supporter is controlled by pressure in sponge chamber, it is possible to change the contact point of the body. From some experimental results, it is clarified that characteristics of the active supporter are influenced by the sponge layer structure. Furthermore, in order to indicate the effectiveness of the active supporter, we measure heart rate of the subject as an evaluation of the burden degree of the body.