A circular pneumatic muscle actuator (CPMA) inspired by human skeletal muscles

This paper illustrates the design, implementation and kinematics of a novel circular pneumatic muscle actuator (CPMA), inspired by the skeletal muscles of a human. The variation of the inner diameter of this actuator is a unique feature. Furthermore, CPMA produces a radial force towards its centre by increasing the diameter of the actuator itself in addition to the reduction in the inner diameter. These performances make the presented actuator suitable to use in numerous applications. The grasping by a soft gripper is chosen as an application to design an efficient soft gripper by using single and multiple CPMAs.