Feed Forward Control for Pneumatic Forearm Prosthesis, Manipulator

In order to reach a better productivity in numerous fields, robots have been wildly used for automatic tasks. The main issue of a robot is his lack of adaptability, which is one of the most important ability of human beings. The best tool for adaptability is the human hand. Using pneumatic actuators to drive a robot forearm grants the possibility to move light articles with accuracy and without harming it. It is then necessary to develop accurate model of the different types of actuators. As every human muscle are simulated by those actuators, the size of these must vary and so their properties as well. These artificial muscle-type pneumatic actuators are composed of a rubber balloon, a net, a feeding channel and finally two anchors at both end of the net. Starting with the simplest linear model, we increased the complexity of the model to finally obtain a powerful control of the plastic muscle. To obtain the data we needed for the model, we used a test bench for pneumatic actuators and adjust it to fit the new size of the current actuator. The main difficulty to control the actuator is to find a way to overcome its hysteresis cycle. Then once the model is ready we need to use it to control the different part of the pneumatic forearm. The previous wrist and hand control is enhanced by feed forward control and can perform motion with a great accuracy. The hand can therefore be used without any electronic devices on it and remains lighter and safer. Previous starting dead-zone has been understood and avoided.