Cifuentes, CA;
Ramos, O;
Munera, M;
Moazen, M;
Wurdemann, Helge;
(2022)
Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators.
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology: Bionics and Biomimetics
(In press).
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Abstract
Soft robotic approaches have been trialled for rehabilitation or assistive hand exoskeletons using silicone or textile actuators because they have more tolerance for alignment with biological joints than rigid exoskeletons. Textile actuators have not been previously evaluated, and this study compares the mechanical properties of textile and silicone actuators used in hand exoskeletons. The physical dimensions, the air pressure required to achieve a full bending motion, and the forces generated at the tip of the actuator were measured and compared. The results showed that the construction method of the silicone actuators is slower than the textile actuators, but it generates better dimensional accuracy. However, the air pressure required for the actuators to generate a full bending motion is significantly lower for textile actuators, and the blocking force generated at that pressure is 35 % higher in the textile actuators. There are significant differences across all variables compared, indicating that actuators constructed using pleated textile techniques have greater potential for the construction of an exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation or assistance.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2022 Cifuentes, Ramos, Munera, Moazen and Wurdemann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Mechanical Engineering UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10150711 |
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