Hybrid Electric-Pneumatic Actuator

Sharbafi, Maziar Ahmad; Rashty, Aida Mohammadi Nejad

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-40886-2_6

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Drawing inspiration from the functional performance and neuromechanical control observed in biological muscles [ 45 ], the adoption of a compliant, redundant actuation system with ample control bandwidth has emerged as an ideal approach for facilitating legged locomotion. Based on this insight, the integration of EMs and PAMs addresses the shortcomings inherent in each actuation system through a combination of their respective advantages for locomotion tasks [ 22 , 46 ]. PAMs introduce adjustable mechanical compliance, enhanced adaptability, and redundancy in design morphology—features less attainable with EMs (see a detailed comparison in Table 1 ).…”

Section: Overview Of Previous Epa-robot Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of Low-Cost Modular Bio-Inspired Electric–Pneumatic Actuator (EPA)-Driven Legged Robots

Silva,

Murcia,

Mohseni

et al. 2024

Biomimetics

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Exploring the fundamental mechanisms of locomotion extends beyond mere simulation and modeling. It necessitates the utilization of physical test benches to validate hypotheses regarding real-world applications of locomotion. This study introduces cost-effective modular robotic platforms designed specifically for investigating the intricacies of locomotion and control strategies. Expanding upon our prior research in electric–pneumatic actuation (EPA), we present the mechanical and electrical designs of the latest developments in the EPA robot series. These include EPA Jumper, a human-sized segmented monoped robot, and its extension EPA Walker, a human-sized bipedal robot. Both replicate the human weight and inertia distributions, featuring co-actuation through electrical motors and pneumatic artificial muscles. These low-cost modular platforms, with considerations for degrees of freedom and redundant actuation, (1) provide opportunities to study different locomotor subfunctions—stance, swing, and balance; (2) help investigate the role of actuation schemes in tasks such as hopping and walking; and (3) allow testing hypotheses regarding biological locomotors in real-world physical test benches.

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Section: Overview Of Previous Epa-robot Developmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design of Low-Cost Modular Bio-Inspired Electric–Pneumatic Actuator (EPA)-Driven Legged Robots

Silva,

Murcia,

Mohseni

et al. 2024

Biomimetics

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“…For instance, the robot can achieve better stability and efficiency while having smaller electric motors by adding an appropriate serial or parallel elastic element to the joint. With the EPA design, we can combine different serial and parallel arrangements and alternate between them (Sharbafi and Mohammadi Nejad Rashty, 2021 ). This enables us to find a potential unique arrangement of compliant elements that can optimize a multi-objective function which consists of the following four criteria: efficiency, performance, stability, and robustness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the effects of serial and parallel elasticity on a hopping robot

Zhao

Mohseni²,

Murcia³

et al. 2022

Front. Neurorobot.

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The interaction between the motor control and the morphological design of the human leg is critical for generating efficient and robust locomotion. In this paper, we focus on exploring the effects of the serial and parallel elasticity on hopping with a two-segmented robotic leg called electric-pneumatic actuation (EPA)-Hopper. EPA-Hopper uses a hybrid actuation system that combines electric motors and pneumatic artificial muscles (PAM). It provides direct access to adjust the physical compliance of the actuation system by tuning PAM pressures. We evaluate the role of the serial and parallel PAMs with different levels of compliance with respect to four criteria: efficiency, performance, stability, and robustness of hopping against perturbations. The results show that the serial PAM has a more pronounced impact than the parallel PAM on these criteria. Increasing the stiffness of the serial PAM decreases the leg stiffness of the unloading phase during hopping. The stiffer the leg, the more efficient and the less robust the movement. These findings can help us further understand the human hopping mechanism and support the design and control of legged robots and assistive devices.

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