Development of Power Assist Wear Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles

Toshiro Noritsugu; Masahiro Takaiwa; Daisuke Sasaki

doi:10.20965/jrm.2009.p0607

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JRM Vol.21 No.5 pp. 607-613

doi: 10.20965/jrm.2009.p0607

(2009)

Paper:

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Development of Power Assist Wear Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles

Toshiro Noritsugu, Masahiro Takaiwa, and Daisuke Sasaki

The Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan

Received:

May 17, 2009

Accepted:

August 25, 2009

Published:

October 20, 2009

Keywords:

wearable robot, power assist, pneumatics, rubber artificial muscle

Abstract

In the future, when the average age of the members of society becomes advanced, an innovative technology to assist the activities of daily living of elderly and disabled people and to assist in the heavy work in nursing will be desired. To develop such a technology, an actuator that is safe and user-friendly is required. It should be small, lightweight, and sufficiently soft. Such an actuator is available in artificial muscle made of pneumatic rubber. We have developed some types of pneumatic rubber artificial muscles and applied them to wearable power assist devices. A wearable power assist device is fitted to the human body to assist the power of muscles that support the activities of daily living, rehabilitation, training, and so on.
In this paper, some types of pneumatic rubber artificial muscles developed and manufactured in our laboratory are presented. Furthermore, two kinds of wearable power assist devices driven by the rubber artificial muscles are described. Finally, some evaluations clarify the effectiveness of pneumatic rubber artificial muscle for innovative human assistance technologies.

Cite this article as:

T. Noritsugu, M. Takaiwa, and D. Sasaki, “Development of Power Assist Wear Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles,” J. Robot. Mechatron., Vol.21, No.5, pp. 607-613, 2009.

Data files:

References

[1] T. Noritsugu and T. Wada, “Application of Artificial Rubber Muscle to Robot,” J. of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.9, No.4, pp. 502-506, 1991.
[2] T. Noritsugu, D. Sasaki, M. Kameda, A. Fukunaga, and M. Takaiwa, “Wearable Power Assist Device for Standing up Motion Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.19, No.6, pp. 619-628, 2007.
[3] D. Sasaki, T. Noritsugu, H. Yamamoto, and M. Takaiwa, “Development of Power Assist Glove using Pneumatic Artificial Rubber Muscle,” J. of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.24, No.5, pp. 640-646, 2006.
[4] M. Aragane, T. Noritsugu, M. Takaiwa, D. Sasaki, and S. Naomoto, “Development of Sheet-like Curved Type Pneumatic Rubber Muscle and Application to Elbow Power Assist Wear,” J. of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.26, No.6, pp. 206-214, 2008.

This article is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationa License.

[1] [1] T. Noritsugu and T. Wada, “Application of Artificial Rubber Muscle to Robot,” J. of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.9, No.4, pp. 502-506, 1991.

[2] [2] T. Noritsugu, D. Sasaki, M. Kameda, A. Fukunaga, and M. Takaiwa, “Wearable Power Assist Device for Standing up Motion Using Pneumatic Rubber Artificial Muscles,” J. of Robotics and Mechatronics, Vol.19, No.6, pp. 619-628, 2007.

[3] [3] D. Sasaki, T. Noritsugu, H. Yamamoto, and M. Takaiwa, “Development of Power Assist Glove using Pneumatic Artificial Rubber Muscle,” J. of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.24, No.5, pp. 640-646, 2006.

[4] [4] M. Aragane, T. Noritsugu, M. Takaiwa, D. Sasaki, and S. Naomoto, “Development of Sheet-like Curved Type Pneumatic Rubber Muscle and Application to Elbow Power Assist Wear,” J. of the Robotics Society of Japan, Vol.26, No.6, pp. 206-214, 2008.