<title>Megapower metal hydride anthroform biorobotic actuator</title>

Abstract

This study is focused on the development effort conducted on a new generation of biorobotic actuators suitable for use in many industrial and biomedical applications. The new robotic actuator herein called the Metal Hydride Anthroform Biorobotic Actuator (MHABA) uses metal hydrides as hydrogen sponge and can be operated both electrically and thermally. A small metal hydride biorobotic actuator has been built using a porous metal hydrice compact of LaNi<SUB>5</SUB>/CU. The reported MHABA has high specific-force (over 100 N/g of metal hydride), and is biomimetic, compact, operationally safe, lubricationless, noiseless, fast and soft actuating, and environmentally benign. The potential for applying the MHABA as electrically/thermally-controllable large force and displacement robotic actuator to industrial, biomedical, and space structures is enormous. The preliminary data shows a great potential for these metal hydride actuators to be used as high power actuators.