pneumatic muscle actuators for humanoid applications sensor and valve integration

The development of humanoid robots places demands on designers unlike those of traditional robots. The close operation of such systems with humans means safety is a primary concern. As a result biomimetic actuators that duplicate the safe interaction between organic life forms are becoming increasingly popular. The pneumatic Muscle Actuator is one such system having performance characteristics equal to or better than that of organic muscle. One drawback of the actuator is the quantity of external hardware needed to drive it, particularly valves and sensors. This paper examines how this hardware affects actuator power/weight, force/weight, volume/weight and electrical power consumption. It is shown that by redesigning the valve system these factors can be improved and by integrating sensors into the pMA a 'plug and play' actuator which can easily be mounted to robotic structures can be produced.