Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : June 05, 2019 - June 08, 2019
High power, light weight and flexible powered suits are required. However, they are not actually made. Because conventional hydraulic actuators are high power, but they are heavy and hard because they are made of metal. So it is not suitable for powered suits aiming at light weight and flexibility. The McKiben artificial muscle is composed of a rubber tube on the inside and a sleeve knitted with chemical fiber on the outside, so it is very lightweight and has a flexible structure. It is suitable for powered suits. We developed thin Hydraulic artificial muscle (THAM) and measured its static characteristics to demonstrate the shrinking force of 1262 N when applying 5 MPa. We also fabricated an active textile woven using THAM to investigate the applicability to powered suit.
