Position and Force Control of a Twisted and Coiled Polymeric Actuator

Twisted and coiled polymer (TCP) actuator has many advantages such as high contraction capability, high work density, low cost materials, and easiness of fabrication, making it promising for applications in biomedical devices, soft robotic, and energy-harvesting equipment. However, convenient and effective control of TCP actuators still remain some challenges. In this paper, we use an accurate strain-temperature and force-temperature model of TCP actuators to design a simple and efficient closed-loop PID control system. The validity of the proposed controllers is investigated through numerical simulations and experiments. The results show good control performance with minimum tracking errors which is less than 3% in our work. Such accuracy is ideal for many engineering fields and robotic designs.