A pneumatic bellows manipulator with force sensing ability

In the case of pneumatic bellows actuators, the external forces are easily and exactly measured from the pressure in the chamber of bellows because there is no sliding part which generates friction. Therefore, the bellows can be utilized as a force sensing actuator which works as a sensor and an actuator simultaneously. By using the pneumatic bellows we design one joint of a robot manipulator which is activated by the two bellows actuators antagonistically. From some experimental results we disclose the static and dynamic characteristics of the proposed robot manipulator and confirm that the robot can move flexibly following external forces by making use of the force sensing ability