In a biomimetic artificial muscle module, a biomimetic artificial muscle assembly having the biomimetic artificial muscle module, and a method of controlling the biomimetic artificial muscle module, the biomimetic artificial muscle module includes an operating part, an elastic part, a driving part, a locking part and first and second sensors. The operating part contracts or relaxes along a longitudinal direction. The elastic part is connected to a first end of the operating part, and behaves elastically behave according to an external force. The driving part is connected to a second end of the operating part, and drives the operating part to be contracted or relaxed. The locking part selectively blocks a length of the operating part from being changed. The first and second sensors respectively sense the elastic part and the operating part.

A surgical instrument having a proximal end, a distal end and a shaft, the shaft comprising a plurality of joint components connected in series, each joint component comprising first and second connectors, which connectors are axially spaced apart from one another at first and second ends of a respective joint component, characterised in that the first connector comprises a first rolling surface, and the second connector comprise a second rolling surface, and wherein each joint component comprises a first spur gear extending from the first rolling surface, and a second spur gear extending from the second rolling surface, wherein the first rolling surface of a first joint component is engageable with the second rolling surface of a second joint component to form a rolling joint, and the second rolling surface of the first joint component is engageable with a first rolling surface of a third rolling joint.

The disclosure discloses an electric-pneumatic hybrid-driving flexible manipulator with spring framework from plates of special-shaped thickness, including a screw shaft motor, an upper seat plate, guide coupling rods, linear bearings, a driving plate, a push plate, short push rods, connecting rods, a bottom seat plate, flexible fingers, a rotating finger holder, a long push rod, a small support, tension springs, single-head bellows muscles and a ridged push plate. The framework of the flexible fingers is a thickness special-shaped plate spring designed according to the principle of equal strength. In the disclosure, through the control of a motor, an angle between a finger knuckle and a grasped object can be adjusted to realize the adjustment of the position of a contact point. To adjust the position of the contact point of the grasped object, the acting point of the contact force and the direction of the acting force can be selected according to situations, so that the grasping is more accurate and reliable. At the same time, the angle between the finger knuckle and the grasped object can be adjusted to adapt to a larger change in size of the grasped object. In the disclosure, a pneumatic system is large in gain and the pneumatic bellows muscles are light, so that the response is quick and the buffering effect is good.

Exemplary embodiments relate to pressurizable housings for a soft robotic actuator. The pressurized housings may be divided into an upper chamber in fluid communication with an internal void of the actuator, and a lower chamber connected to an inlet and an outlet. The upper chamber and lower chamber may be separated by a piston. By supplying a fluid to the lower chamber via the inlet, the piston is moved into the space previously occupied by the upper chamber, which reduces the volume of the upper chamber and increases the pressure in the internal void. This action allows the actuator to be rapidly inflated, and further simplifies the pressurization system and reduces its weight.

The present invention discloses a multi-dimensional surface electromyogram signal prosthetic hand control method based on principal component analysis. The method comprises the following steps. Wear an armlet provided with a 24-channel array electromyography sensor to a front arm of a subject, and respectively wear five finger joint attitude sensors at a distal phalanx of a thumb and at middle phalanxes of remaining fingers of the subject. Perform independent bending and stretching training on the five fingers of the subject, and meanwhile, collect data of an array electromyography sensor and data of the finger joint attitude sensors. Decouple the data of the array electromyography sensor by principal component analysis to form a finger motion training set. Perform data fitting on the finger motion training set by a neural network method, and construct a finger continuous motion prediction model. Predict a current bending angle of the finger through the finger continuous motion model.

Provided is an artificial muscle device, including a plurality of heat transfer modules including a thermal conductive body in which a plurality of tunnels parallel to each other and a thermoelectric element contacting an outer surface of the thermal conductive body, a connection member connecting a first heat transfer module to a second heat transfer module, the connection member being folded or unfolded according to a distance between the first heat transfer module and the second heat transfer module, a thermal reaction driving member passing through each of the tunnels, the thermal reaction driving member being stretched or contracted in a longitudinal direction of the tunnel according to a temperature of the thermal reaction driving member, and a power transmission part connected to an end of the thermal reaction driving member.

An artificial muscle includes a housing including an electrode region, an expandable fluid region, a first film layer, and a second film layer. The first film layer and the second film layer each include an inner protective layer having a first elasticity, an outer protective layer having a second elasticity, and a reinforcing layer provided between the inner protective layer and the outer protective layer, the reinforcing layer having a third elasticity greater than the first elasticity of the inner protective layer and the second elasticity of the outer protective layer. The artificial muscle further includes an electrode pair positioned in the electrode region of the housing and between the first film layer and the second film layer, and a dielectric fluid housed within the housing.

A robot is provided having a kinematic chain comprising a plurality of joints and links, including a root joint connected to a robot pedestal, and at least one end effector. A plurality of actuators are fixedly mounted on the robot pedestal. A plurality of tendons is connected to a corresponding plurality of actuation points on the kinematic chain and to actuators in the plurality of actuators, arranged to translate actuator position and force to actuation points for tendon-driven joints on the kinematic chain with losses in precision due to variability of tendons in the plurality of tendons. A controller operates the kinematic chain to perform a task. The controller is configured to generate actuator command data in dependence on the actuator states and image data in a manner that compensates for the losses in precision in the tendon-driven mechanisms.

A rotary engine that generates electricity using differences in relative humidity. A water-responsive material expands and contracts as water evaporates which drives the rotation of two wheels. The rotary motion drives an electrical generator which produces electricity. In another embodiment, the water-responsive material is used to actuate an artificial muscle of a robotic device.

Artificial muscles comprising a body of dielectric elastomer, wherein the body contains a pair of microfluidic networks are presented. Each microfluidic network includes a plurality of channels fluidically coupled via a manifold. The channels of the microfluidic networks are interdigitated and filled with conductive fluid such that each set of adjacent channels functions as the electrodes of an electroactive polymer (EAP) actuator. By using the manifolds as compliant wiring to energize the electrodes, artificial muscles in accordance with the present disclosure mitigate some or all of the reliability problems associated with prior-art artificial muscles.