Abstract
The McKibben artificial muscle is a pneumatic soft actuator consisting of a rubber tube, with fibers covering it. In this study, we propose a new fabrication process to easily realize twisting artificial muscles by utilizing braiding technology and water-soluble fibers based on the McKibben artificial muscle. In the braiding process, half of the sleeve fibers of the artificial muscle are substituted with water-soluble fibers. However, the water-soluble fibers are removed by placing the muscle in warm water to realize a twisting motion. By changing the direction of the fibers, artificial muscles that twist clockwise or counterclockwise can be produced. We believe that the establishment of such a simple and efficient fabrication process will promote to the practical application of artificial muscles.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 3147-3154 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Apr 1 2024 |
Keywords
- Soft robot materials and design
- artificial muscles
- hydraulic/ pneumatic actuators
- soft robotics
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Control and Systems Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Mechanical Engineering
- Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
- Computer Science Applications
- Control and Optimization
- Artificial Intelligence