Development of Pneumatic Artificial Muscles and an Anthropomorphic Gripper Control Module

The article discusses the development of a prototype of pneumatic artificial muscles for "soft" anthropomorphic holding devices. It gives the description of the development of a device for controlling artificial muscles of anthropomorphic devices and robotic systems based on adaptive grippers. A control system and the digital-analog information input-output module hardware has been developed. The control module performs tasks associated with providing communication between the computer and the programmable logic controller of a robot. It also analyzes the sensors state and transmits control signals to the actuators. The UART interface is used for communication and integration of devices into a local area network. The module can be connected via WiFi and Ethernet interfaces, which facilitates the prompt exchange of device commands with each other and with a computer. The input-output module interacts with only one interface and it is possible to connect only one pre-selected interface, which eliminates errors in the interaction between devices on the network. A program has been developed to update the robot control system and add the ability to control the robot and adjacent automation. The software and hardware platform is used, providing electrical compatibility with industrial standards signals. The digital and analog input and output program unit interacts with sensors and actuators of the manipulator and is fully compatible with the IEC61131-5 standard. The use of a robotic arm with pneumatic muscles contributes to the improvement and expansion of the field of application of a remote control system with tactile feedback, which allows feeling a distant object.