Design and control of a robotic leg with braided pneumatic actuators

Author

Colbrunn, Robb W. ; Nelson, Gabriel M. ; Quinn, Roger D.

Author_Institution

Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH, USA

Volume

2

fYear

2001

fDate

2001

Firstpage

992

Abstract

A four-DOF planar robotic leg actuated with McKibben artificial muscles was designed, constructed, and controlled. Both position and passive stiffness were independently controllable at each joint. The tunable passive stiffness properties of the actuators provided stable, forward walking for the robot. A benefit of passive joint stiffness is energy efficiency. Results indicate that the leg may be capable of walking on a horizontal plane with its control valves off 90% of the time. The muscle-like properties of these actuators, including high strength-to-weight ratio, tunable passive stiffness, and self-limiting force output, make them well suited for legged robots

Keywords

actuators; legged locomotion; mechanical variables control; pneumatic control equipment; position control; 4 DOF planar robotic leg; McKibben artificial muscles; braided pneumatic actuators; forward walking; high strength-to-weight ratio; horizontal plane; muscle-like properties; passive stiffness; self-limiting force output; Energy efficiency; Force measurement; Hip; Knee; Leg; Legged locomotion; Muscles; Pneumatic actuators; Robot control; Tracking;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2001. Proceedings. 2001 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on

Conference_Location

Maui, HI

Print_ISBN

0-7803-6612-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/IROS.2001.976298

Filename

976298