End Effector with Pseudomuscular Actuators: Simulation, Control and Realization

Abstract

Pseudomuscular actuators modeling and control have been developed to project and realize a new kind of robot end effector. Actuators are made of polyelectrolytic gel fibers, characterized by low weight/power ratio and by chemically driven swell-contraction behaviors. Actuators chemical -mechanical behavior has been studied in a first phase, which has introduced the dynamic model determination. As a further result a first manipulator has been built. Then, starting from the mechanical-chemical model, a V.S.S. control technique has been applied by computer sim ulation on this manipulator, analyzing its behavior.