Disclosed is a tendon-sheath driving apparatus. A tendon-sheath driving apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes: a sheath having a predetermined length, being flexible and having a hollow shape; a tendon placed inside a hollow of the sheath; a rod coupled to an outer surface of a first side of the tendon, and having higher rigidity than the sheath; and a pipe coupled to an outer surface of a first side of the sheath, and having higher rigidity than the sheath, wherein the tendon is moved through the sheath and the pipe as the rod is moved being guided by the pipe while a portion of the rod is placed inside the pipe.

A universal actuator for driving a continuum arm robot having a plurality of tendons includes; a housing; a power supply pack with a power source; a control pack with an industrial programmable logic controller, a screen, a rotary encoder linked to an analogue input device, a digital output device, a plurality of electronic control cards that connect the programmable logic controller to a user input device, the rotary encoder and an actuator pack for controlling the motion of the continuum arm robot, the programmable logic controller or the screen having a computer program to allow for set up and control of the continuum arm robot.

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.

Artificial limbs and joints that behave like biological limbs and joints employ a synthetic actuator which consumes negligible power when exerting zero force, consumes negligible power when outputting force at constant length (isometric) and while performing dissipative, nonconservative work, is capable of independently engaging flexion and extension tendon-like, series springs, is capable of independently varying joint position and stiffness, and exploits series elasticity for mechanical power amplification.

A tendon-driven robotic gripper is disclosed for performing fingertip and enveloping grasps. One embodiment comprises two fingers, each with two links, and is actuated using a single active tendon. During unobstructed closing, the distal links remain parallel, creating exact fingertip grasps. Conversely, if the proximal links are stopped by contact with an object, the distal links start flexing, creating a stable enveloping grasp. The route of the active tendon and the parameters of the springs providing passive extension forces are optimized in order to achieve this behavior. An additional passive tendon is disclosed that may be used as a constraint preventing the gripper from entering undesirable parts of the joint workspace. A method for optimizing the dimensions of the links in order to achieve enveloping grasps of a large range of objects is disclosed and applied to a set of common household objects.

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.

An artificial muscle includes an electrode pair including a first electrode and a second electrode. One or both of the first electrode and the second electrode includes a central opening. The first electrode and the second electrode each include two or more fan portions and two or more bridge portions. Each fan portion includes a first end having an inner length, a second end having an outer length, a first side edge extending from the second end, and a second side edge extending from the second end. The outer length is greater than the inner length. Each bridge portion interconnecting adjacent fan portions at the first end.

An actuated or mobile device such as a mobile robot or robotic muscle is provided, wherein mobility may be enabled by means of novel models of inchworm actuator positioned to tighten, loosen, move, or pull on one or more strings or tendons to directly or indirectly effect motion. The clamp elements of the inchworm actuator may include the novel optimization of being H-shaped and/or including a ‘beak’ element. Inchworm actuators tightening and/or loosening strings or tendons may cause ‘foot’ elements to rotatably extend from or tuck into a surface of the device, enabling the device to pull itself along. The device may include one or more moveable joints implemented as a bow joint. One or a grouped set of inchworm actuators pulling tendons may be used to rotate an axle, particularly for implementing a robotic joint around the axle.

An artificial muscle that includes a first end plate opposite a second end plate, a flexible enclosure extending from the first end plate to the second end plate and housing a dielectric fluid, and a reciprocating electrode stack housed within the flexible enclosure and coupled to and extending between the first end plate and the second end plate. The reciprocating electrode stack includes one or more electrode pairs, each electrode pair having a positive electrode and a negative electrode physically coupled to one another along a first edge portion of the positive electrode and the negative electrode. The artificial muscle also includes a plurality of electrode leads electrically coupled to the reciprocating electrode stack. Each individual electrode lead of the plurality of electrode leads extends from an individual electrode of the reciprocating electrode stack to the first end plate or the second end plate.

High strain hydraulically amplified self-healing electrostatic transducers having increased maximum theoretical and practical strains are disclosed. In particular, the actuators include electrode configurations having a zipping front created by the attraction of the electrodes that is configured orthogonally to a strain axis along which the actuators. This configuration produces increased strains. In turn, various form factors for the actuator configuration are presented including an artificial circular muscle and a strain amplifying pulley system. Other actuator configurations are contemplated that include independent and opposed electrode pairs to create cyclic activation, hybrid electrode configurations, and use of strain limiting layers for controlled deflection of the actuator.