TY - GEN
T1 - A micro artificial muscle actuator using electro-conjugate fluid
AU - Takemura, Kenjiro
AU - Yokota, Shinichi
AU - Edamura, Kazuya
PY - 2005
Y1 - 2005
N2 - Soft robots inspired from natural systems are one of the main research topics in the robotic field since the last decade. Accordingly, artificial muscles were widely investigated due to their potentials in soft machines or soft robots. Many types of artificial muscles have been developed, including pneumatic actuators, ion-exchange polymer composite actuators, polymer gels, shape memory alloys, and so on. However, these artificial muscles are not used as practical actuators. In this study, the authors propose a new type of micro artificial muscle actuator (< 1 cm3) utilizing an electro-conjugate fluid (ECF) which generates a powerful jet flow when subjected to a high voltage (∼ kV). The actuator basically consists of a fiber-reinforced silicone rubber tube and a micro pressure source using the ECF. The inner pressure of the silicone rubber tube is increased by the jet flow generated at the pressure source. The silicone rubber tube contracts along the actuator axis with the increasing pressure. The driving characteristics of the micro artificial muscle actuator were experimentally investigated. The experimental results show that this new actuation technology' yields great potentials for driving soft robots.
AB - Soft robots inspired from natural systems are one of the main research topics in the robotic field since the last decade. Accordingly, artificial muscles were widely investigated due to their potentials in soft machines or soft robots. Many types of artificial muscles have been developed, including pneumatic actuators, ion-exchange polymer composite actuators, polymer gels, shape memory alloys, and so on. However, these artificial muscles are not used as practical actuators. In this study, the authors propose a new type of micro artificial muscle actuator (< 1 cm3) utilizing an electro-conjugate fluid (ECF) which generates a powerful jet flow when subjected to a high voltage (∼ kV). The actuator basically consists of a fiber-reinforced silicone rubber tube and a micro pressure source using the ECF. The inner pressure of the silicone rubber tube is increased by the jet flow generated at the pressure source. The silicone rubber tube contracts along the actuator axis with the increasing pressure. The driving characteristics of the micro artificial muscle actuator were experimentally investigated. The experimental results show that this new actuation technology' yields great potentials for driving soft robots.
KW - Artificial muscle
KW - Functional fluid
KW - Microactualor
KW - Soft actuator
KW - Soft robot
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33846169779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33846169779&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/ROBOT.2005.1570173
DO - 10.1109/ROBOT.2005.1570173
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:33846169779
SN - 078038914X
SN - 9780780389144
T3 - Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
SP - 532
EP - 537
BT - Proceedings of the 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
T2 - 2005 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation
Y2 - 18 April 2005 through 22 April 2005
ER -