The McKibben artificial muscle is a pneumatic actuator whose properties include a very high force to weight ratio. This characteristic makes it very attractive for a wide range of applications such as mobile robots and prosthetic appliances for the disabled. In this paper, we present a model that includes a nonlinear, Mooney–Rivlin mathematical description of the actuator’s internal bladder. Experimental results show that the model provides improvement in the ability to predict the actuator’s output force. However, a discrepancy between model and experiment, albeit smaller than previous models, still exists. A number of factors are identified that may be responsible for this discrepancy. [S0022-0434(00)00902-3]

Issue Section:
Technical Briefs
Keywords:
robots, pneumatic control equipment, actuators, elasticity, mechanical energy storage, nonlinear control systems
Topics:
Actuators, Energy storage, Muscle, Accounting, Braid (Textile)
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