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Cardiac Muscle Cell-based Actuator and Self-stabilizing Biorobot - Part 2

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Published on: May 9, 2017

A cellular control architecture for compliant artificial muscles.

Lael U Odhner¹, Jun Ueda, H Harry Asada

¹Massachusetts Inst. of Technol., Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. lael@mit.edu

Conference Proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual Conference

|October 20, 2007

Summary

This study introduces a cellular artificial muscle design for improved performance. Probabilistic control of individual cells ensures smooth, reliable muscle movement and precise tracking control.

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Area of Science:

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence
Materials Science
Control Systems Engineering

Background:

Artificial muscles offer potential for advanced robotics and prosthetics.
Cellular structures in artificial muscles can mitigate issues like hysteresis and enhance performance.
Existing control methods may not fully leverage the benefits of cellular muscle designs.

Purpose of the Study:

To present a novel control scheme for cellular artificial muscles.
To achieve precise position or compliance control of these muscles.
To demonstrate the effectiveness of probabilistic cell activation for reliable muscle behavior.

Main Methods:

Developing a global feedback control loop measuring aggregate muscle force and displacement.
Implementing probabilistic contraction and relaxation of individual muscle cells.
Designing a control law based on the expected response of the artificial muscle.

Main Results:

The stochastic nature of cellular activation leads to smooth and reliable global muscle behavior.
The proposed control scheme achieves good tracking control by matching expected and desired responses.
Elimination of unwanted behaviors such as hysteresis was observed.

Conclusions:

A viable control strategy for cellular artificial muscles has been developed.
Probabilistic control of individual cells is effective for achieving desired global muscle performance.
This approach enables precise position and compliance control for advanced applications.