Actuator characteristics of a soft wearable suit using a pneumatic chamber

Abstract

A growing number of elderly people are using wearable devices to assist them in their daily lives. In particular, pneumatic actuators are often used to support muscle strength during walking. However, despite the safety and light weight of pneumatic actuators, the structure of the control system is complicated and requires a constant power source, so an efficient driving system is presently needed. The solution proposed in this paper is a system that uses a distributor and a pneumatic chamber that can support repetitive gait behavior. According to the design standards required by the wearable suit, mathematical analysis of these systems was performed, and the efficiency of the proposed system was analyzed through experiments from a fluid analysis point of view and an electrical point of view. The results confirm that the proposed pneumatic chamber reduces the load of the motor and improves the pneumatic rise and retention time of the soft actuator. ？ ICROS 2020.