Pneumatic Multi-Pocket Elastomer Actuator for Simulating Tendon Driven Human Muscles

Diseases, trauma and gradually unable to take care of themselves caused by aging are becoming more and more common in countries all over the world. At the same time, many welfare devices for rehabilitation and assistance have also been developed to improve the quality of life of the elderly. The traditional device is based on the principle of rigid mechanics, which will cause damage to the fragile body of the elderly. The soft actuator has the characteristics of softness and portability, which can safely and effectively couple the force of the actuator to the human body, often used in surgical support instruments and wearable devices. In this study, a pneumatic multi-pocket elastomer actuator for simulating tendon driven human muscle was designed and manufactured by hand. The actuator has the characteristics of a wide range of motion of 180 °, bi-directional control of motion, small outer diameter of 8.5mm and controllable softness. It is verified that the hand-made manufactured actuator realizes the effect of 180 bending angle under the driving of air pressure and hydraulic pressure.