Wearable Fluid Power by Means of Various Flat Tube Actuators

抄録

This paper presents a novel approach of driving the human joints by means of the fluid control system with flexibility just like the clothes, which leads to realize the cyborg amplifying the human motor function. The former proposed actuators on the assumption of the body mounting were not always designed from the point of the clothing comfort. Then, in the first part of this paper, the index of clothing comfort is introduced so as to evaluate the desirability of the actuator mounted on the body. Second, tube actuators by pneumatics with the novel structure are systematically proposed to increase the introduced index. And third, by using them, the efficient driving method of both the arm and the leg is shown to realize “Wearable Fluid Power” so as to assist the disabled on their walk or to improve their sport skill.