Multiplexed Force Control of Pneumatic Muscles Available to Purchase

Pneumatic actuators are often used in applications that require high power-to-weight ratio, combined with low price and clean and fast operation. However, due to the compressibility of air and highly nonlinear behavior of seal friction, the position and force control of these actuators is difficult to manage. As a result, pneumatic cylinders have been used for many years solely in simple repetitive tasks requiring only a very limited amount of system control. Nonetheless, the pneumatic actuators have properties such as compactness, high power-to-weight ratio, and simplicity that are desirable features in advanced robotics. To overcome the shortcomings, a number of advanced pneumatic components have been developed, of which the most promising is the pneumatic muscle. Compared to a cylinder, a pneumatic muscle not only has a higher power-to-weight and power-to-volume ratio but it is also almost frictionless and has zero leakage. In spite of the muscle actuator's nonlinear force-to-contraction characteristics, many motion and force control methods have been successfully applied to it. The characteristics of the actuator enable it to be used in simple positioning systems and as a variable gas spring. The actuator's almost linear pressure-to-force ratio is extremely well-suited to a variety of gripping and pressing applications. Due to the muscle actuator's characteristics and recent developments in pneumatic valve technology, there is an opportunity to share a single pressure control servo valve among multiple muscle actuators. The multiplexed control of the actuators with only one servo valve reduces the system costs significantly. In this paper we investigate the feasibility of employing multiplexed force control of four pneumatic muscle actuators. In the system, pressure is controlled by a single proportional pressure valve. High-speed switching valves are used for activating the pressure control for each muscle actuator in the desired manner. Pneumatic cylinders are attached to the other ends of the muscles in order to cause controllable position disturbances. The displacement, force and pressure of each muscle are measured with appropriate sensors. The system behavior is investigated under position disturbances.