Compact and low-cost humanoid hand powered by nylon artificial muscles.
This paper focuses on design, fabrication and characterization of a biomimetic, compact, low-cost and lightweight 3D printed humanoid hand (TCP Hand) that is actuated by twisted and coiled polymeric (TCP) artificial muscles. The TCP muscles were recently introduced and provided unprecedented strain, mechanical work, and lifecycle (Haines et al 2014 Science 343 868-72). The five-fingered humanoid hand is under-actuated and has 16 degrees of freedom (DOF) in total (15 for fingers and 1 at the palm). In the under-actuated hand designs, a single actuator provides coupled motions at the phalanges of each finger. Two different designs are presented along with the essential elements consisting of actuators, springs, tendons and guide systems. Experiments were conducted to investigate the performance of the TCP muscles in response to the power input (power magnitude, type of wave form such as pulsed or square wave, and pulse duration) and the resulting actuation stroke and force generation. A kinematic model of the flexor tendons was developed to simulate the flexion motion and compare with experimental results. For fast finger movements, short high-power pulses were employed. Finally, we demonstrated the grasping of various objects using the humanoid TCP hand showing an array of functions similar to a natural hand.
Humanoid, Biorobotics, and Smart Systems (HBS) Laboratory, The University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 75080, United States of America.
Lianjun
L
Wu
Monica
M
Jung de Andrade
Lokesh Kumar
LK
Saharan
Richard Steven
RS
Rome
Ray H
RH
Baughman
Yonas
Y
Tadesse
D001187:Artificial Organs; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D040761:Biomimetic Materials; D005385:Fingers / Q000502:physiology; D006225:Hand; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology*; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal; D009757:Nylons; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional; D012371:Robotics; D013710:Tendons
D009757:Nylons