Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs) Identification for Actuating a Wrist-Joint Rehabilitation Robot

Abstract

Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs) are the most promising type of pneumatic-based actuators. Recently, they have been widely used in medical and rehabilitation robotic systems due to their flexibility, reliability, and high load-to-weight ratio. The aim of this work is to introduce an accurate mathematical model for describing the performance of the pneumatic artificial muscles under different applied pressures and loads by examining different previously proposed models. Being motivated by the muscles’ usage in a wearable robotic device for wrist rehabilitation where the required muscle force is not so large, it is interesting to consider the model that best expresses the muscle behavior over a lower range of the muscle force. An experimental system for measuring the muscle contraction at different applied pressures and loads is set up. Then, an algorithm for the parameters identification of the examined models based on the least squared error approach is developed using MATLAB Software.

Keywords

• pneumatic artificial muscles identification
• pams
• wrist-joint rehabilitation robot