High Speed Switch Electromagnetic Valve Control for a Miniature Pneumatic Robot Locomotion

This paper described the structure of a flexible miniature pneumatic robotic system which can move in human cavities, it makes inchworm-like movement driven by a 3-DOF (Degree of Freedom) pneumatic rubber actuator and holds its positions by air chambers. The high speed switch electromagnetic valve control system was designed for the robot locomotion in tube. The valve control circuit and the valve delay characteristics were studied in detail. The moving experiment of the robot had been done based on the robot moving states and pulse voltage time orders in one moving cycle. Results prove the robot can move orderly in a tube by the control of high speed switch electromagnetic valves.