CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Nowadays, pneumatic muscle actuator PMA has become one of the most widely- used fluid-power actuators which yield remarkable muscle-like properties such as high force
to weight ratio, soft and flexible structure, minimal compressed-air consumption and low cost. Pneumatic muscle actuator PMA is made mainly of a flexible and inflatable membrane. This
actuator is used to convert pneumatic power to pulling force. Due to the advantages, the use of this muscle like actuator has increased in the factory floor automation, robotics and many
more. Lately, PMA is been used as a main motion power source. One of the major attractions about pneumatics is the low weight and inherent compliant behavior. Compliance is due to the
compressibility of air and, and it can be overcome by controlling the inlet pressure into PMA. Pneumatic system is extensively used in the industrial environment mainly for its advantages.
The nonlinear characteristics of PMA are caused by the existence of pressurized air, elastic- viscous material and the geometric features. Due to this, the task to obtain an accurate
mathematical modeling is a prime challenge. Better positioning performance depends on how precise or accurate the parameter of the modeling. However, the nonlinear characteristics of
the actuator made it difficult in controlling. This project will focus on developing a pneumatic muscle actuator motion control system experimental setup and model its dynamic
characteristic for a commercially used muscle actuator.
1.2 Problem Statement
Pneumatic system is extensively used in the industrial environment mainly for simple repetitive tasks due to their compactness, power to weight ration and simplicity. The use of
pneumatic muscle technology has spread into many different fields including robotics, human power assisted robot exoskeleton and mobility assistance, therapy and rehabilitation. Besides
that, to define an accurate mathematical modeling to represent the PMA system dynamics is a difficult task as well. The main scopes of this project will mainly focus in the experimental
setup and mathematical modeling of the dynamic system. The experimental and simulation results will be used in the performance validation.
Motivation
: - The use of pneumatic muscle technology has spread into many different fields including robotics, human power and mobility assistance, therapy and rehabilitation. The
design and development of this project will help in the research of applicabilityeffectiveness of pneumatic muscle actuator positioning system in robotics applications; especially for a set-
up with very non-linear characteristics and very difficult to be controlled.
1.3 Objective of Project