Actuator design using biomimicry methods and a pneumatic muscle system

Abstract An empirical and theoretical study is conducted on a special actuator termed “pneumatic muscle” (PM) being used in a force control system framework. Such an actuator has similarities to biological systems and has many advantages (extremely high power/weight, power/volume and power/energy ratios). However, due to its inherent nonlinearities, this actuator suffers from poor position and force control. The study described here accomplishes three main goals. (1) A force control system is developed within an open and closed loop framework to emulate how biological systems work in an agonist–antagonist framework. (2) The PM used in the study has such strength that it excites the frame dynamics. This undesired dynamic response is then effectively cancelled using an impedance model control scheme. (3) The PM is demonstrated to both change length yet still produce force in a controlled manner.

[1]  Daniel W. Repperger,et al.  Biomimetic model of skeletal muscle isometric contraction: I. an energetic-viscoelastic model for the skeletal muscle isometric force twitch , 2004, Comput. Biol. Medicine.

[2]  S. Bernhard,et al.  Automation of a laboratory plant for direct casting of thin steel strips , 1993 .

[3]  Chandler A. Phillips.  Human Factors Engineering , 1999 .

[4]  Francisco Javier Carrillo,et al.  Monitored robust force control of a milling process , 2001 .

[5]  Nariman Sepehri,et al.  Design and experimental evaluation of a robust force controller for an electro-hydraulic actuator via quantitative feedback theory , 2000 .

[6]  Tianyou Chai,et al.  Decreased vibration control for centrifuges: A new adaptive hybrid control technique , 1996 .

[7]  João M. Lemos,et al.  A methodology for impact evaluation of alternative control strategies in a large-scale power plant , 1997 .

[8]  J. Winters.  Hill-Based Muscle Models: A Systems Engineering Perspective , 1990 .

[9]  Darwin G. Caldwell,et al.  Control of pneumatic muscle actuators , 1995 .

[10]  Janine M. Benyus,et al.  Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature , 1997 .

[11]  P. Rack,et al.  The effects of length and stimulus rate on tension in the isometric cat soleus muscle , 1969, The Journal of physiology.

[12]  C. Phillips,et al.  Modeling the Dynamic Characteristics of Pneumatic Muscle , 2003, Annals of Biomedical Engineering.

[13]  Y. Fung,et al.  Biomechanics: Mechanical Properties of Living Tissues , 1981 .

[14]  F. Rotella,et al.  A robust adaptive controller for constant turning force regulation , 1997 .

[15]  Bertrand Tondu,et al.  Robust stabilization and tracking for robotic manipulators with artificial muscles , 1996, Int. J. Syst. Sci..

[16]  Mei-Hua Liu,et al.  Force-controlled fuzzy-logic-based robotic deburring , 1995 .

[17]  Giuliana Mattiazzo,et al.  A fuzzy controlled pneumatic gripper for asparagus harvesting , 1994 .

[18]  Fazel Naghdy,et al.  Fuzzy logic compliance control of the peg in hole insertion , 1998 .

[19]  Robert D. Howe,et al.  Drum roll: increasing bandwidth through passive impedance modulation , 1997, Proceedings of International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[20]  Bruno Siciliano,et al.  An inverse kinematics algorithm for interaction control of a flexible arm with a compliant surface , 2001 .

[21]  M. Solomonow,et al.  Evaluation of isometric antagonist coactivation strategies of electrically stimulated muscles , 1996, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[22]  Daniel W. Repperger,et al.  A VSC position tracking system involving a large scale pneumatic muscle actuator , 1998, Proceedings of the 37th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (Cat. No.98CH36171).

[23]  Rui Liu,et al.  A simplified approach to force control for electro-hydraulic systems☆ , 2000 .

[24]  Joao M. C. Sousa,et al.  Fuzzy predictive algorithms applied to real-time force control , 2001 .

[25]  Mahdi Mahfouf,et al.  A new generic approach to model reduction for complex physiologically based drug models , 2002 .

[26]  Daniel W. Repperger,et al.  Biomimetic model of skeletal muscle isometric contraction: II. A phenomenological model of the skeletal muscle excitation-contraction coupling process , 2004, Comput. Biol. Medicine.

[27]  Soohyun Kim,et al.  Robust force control for a magnetically levitated manipulator using flux density measurement , 1996 .

[28]  H. F. Schulte.  The characteristics of the McKibben artificial muscle , 1961 .

[29]  Roger M. Goodall,et al.  Modelling, placing and controlling active elements in structural engineering design , 1994 .

[30]  Darwin G. Caldwell.  Natural and artificial muscle elements as robot actuators , 1993 .

[31]  T Gordon,et al.  Nonlinear stiffness--force relationships in whole mammalian skeletal muscles. , 1986, Canadian journal of physiology and pharmacology.

[32]  L. Boullart,et al.  Using genetic algorithms to design a control strategy of an industrial process , 1998 .

[33]  Philip Moore,et al.  A practical control strategy for servo-pneumatic actuator systems , 1999 .

[34]  A. Hill.  The heat of shortening and the dynamic constants of muscle , 1938 .

[35]  Chandler A. Phillips,et al.  Mechanics of skeletal and cardiac muscle , 1983 .

[36]  Daniel W. Repperger,et al.  Power/energy metrics for controller evaluation of actuators similar to biological systems , 2005 .

[37]  Howard J. Chizeck,et al.  Linear Quadratic Control of a Loaded Agonist-Antagonist Muscle Pair , 1987, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[38]  Blake Hannaford,et al.  Measurement and modeling of McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles , 1996, IEEE Trans. Robotics Autom..

[39]  Toshiro Noritsugu,et al.  Application of rubber artificial muscle manipulator as a rehabilitation robot , 1997 .

[40]  Lawrence C. Rome.  TESTING A MUSCLE'S DESIGN , 1997 .