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Cardiac Muscle-cell Based Actuator and Self-stabilizing Biorobot - PART 1
Published on: July 11, 2017
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Bioinspired activation strategies for Peano-HASEL artificial muscle
Zhaozhen Liu1, Harrison McAleese1, Andrew Weightman1
1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Medical Engineering Research Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.
Plos One
|February 6, 2025
Summary
Bioinspired activation strategies enhance artificial muscle performance by modulating actuator engagement. This approach improves displacement and velocity without hardware changes, though energy efficiency may decrease.
Area of Science:
- Robotics
- Biomimetics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Human muscles exhibit versatile force, displacement, and velocity modulation through complex activation strategies.
- Artificial muscles can achieve enhanced functionality by mimicking these bioinspired activation strategies.
- Peano-hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic (HASEL) artificial muscles offer a platform for exploring advanced activation methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of various activation strategies on the performance of a Peano-HASEL artificial muscle.
- To analyze the effects of activation on displacement-time response, force-length, and force-velocity relationships.
- To determine optimal activation parameters for artificial muscle applications.
Main Methods:
- Developed a finite element model of a Peano-HASEL artificial muscle with four actuators in a diamond configuration.
- Applied bioinspired activation strategies, varying the number, position, profile, frequency, and phase of actuator activation.
- Simulated the artificial muscle's response under different activation conditions.
Main Results:
- Increasing the number of activated actuators boosted displacement (106%) and contraction velocity (128%), but reduced energy efficiency (47%).
- Symmetric and phased activation mitigated actuator distortion; phased activation involved engaging middle actuators before side actuators.
- Activation signal frequency influenced displacement patterns; low-frequency ramp signals favored controllable displacement, while step signals enhanced contraction velocity (325%).
Conclusions:
- Activation strategies significantly enhance multi-actuator artificial muscle functionality without hardware modification.
- Optimized activation can improve displacement control, contraction velocity, and output force.
- Future research should explore complex artificial muscle arrangements and experimental validation of activation strategies.
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