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Soft Artificial Muscle Based on Pre-Detwinned Shape Memory Alloy Spring Actuator Achieving High Passive Assistive
Jaeyeon Jeong1, Minjae Cho1, Ki-Uk Kyung1
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea.
Soft Robotics
|February 7, 2024
Summary
This study introduces a novel soft artificial muscle using shape memory alloy (SMA) springs for energy-efficient wearable rehabilitation robots. The design effectively assists elbow movements by compensating for gravitational torque and providing active force.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Biomedical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Designing energy-efficient assistive wearable rehabilitation robots is challenging due to continuous high human load requirements.
- Actuators must overcome significant forces like body gravity and spastic torque during assistance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a novel soft artificial muscle design for energy-efficient wearable rehabilitation robots.
- To utilize shape memory alloy (SMA) spring actuators with a pre-detwinning process for enhanced performance.
Main Methods:
- Fabricated SMA springs using a pre-detwinning process to improve linearity and passive restoring force.
- Integrated pre-detwinned SMA springs with a stretchable coolant vessel to create a soft artificial muscle.
- Designed a soft wearable robot utilizing the developed soft artificial muscle for elbow assistance.
Main Results:
- The SMA spring achieved >60% contraction.
- The soft artificial muscle exhibited stiffness of 1125 N/m (martensite) and 1732 N/m (austenite) with a 0.5 Hz bandwidth.
- The wearable mechanism fully compensated gravitational torque in passive mode and produced up to 3.5 Nm torque in active mode.
Conclusions:
- The novel soft artificial muscle design using pre-detwinned SMA springs offers an energy-efficient solution for wearable rehabilitation robots.
- The developed mechanism can effectively assist elbow movements, compensating for passive gravitational torque and providing active force for rehabilitation.
