Design of a PMA-driven bionic neck robot with a spring spine

Bionic Neck Robot (BNR) is a kind of robot that mimics the locomotion and structure of the human neck joint. The human neck is a complex component, which provides dexterous mobility in a very compact and lightweight form. Therefore, it is difficult to imitate the human neck in all aspects. In this paper, a novel PMA (Pneumatic Muscle Actuator) driven bionic neck robot with a spring spine is proposed. This design has a noticeable human similarity. The PMA and the spring connect the moving platform and the robot base platform. The spring works as the cervical spine to support the head and generates desired head movements. The PMAs, like the human muscles can generate linear contract force and drive the robot in all directions. By building the forward and inverse kinematic model, an optimization problem is formulated to find the optimal physical parameters that can meet the given range of motion. A rapid prototyping system was developed. Simulations and experimental results verify the workspace of the robot with optimized parameters.