Development of A Hydraulic Bilateral Servo Actuator for A Patient Supporting Robot

Abstract

One major difficulty in nursing the bedridden is moving their body. This includes lifting and carrying them from one place to another, as well as changing their body posture. Because they are lifting a heavy solid weight while in an unstable posture, the caregiver usually suffers hack pain due to this work. We propose a solution by replacing this labor with robotics technology to lift and/or carry a person. The robot is designed with the smooth, high torque hydraulic actuation, and the bilateral servo system for the control to meet the necessity of the service. The superiority of this robotic device is in its interface and output torque. The bilateral servo system allows the robot to he directly operated (holding the end of the arm) and to control an average weight of a Japanese adult (e.g. 60 kgf) with little effort (e.g. 1 kgf).