Enclosing Control of Rotary Pneumatic Actuator Using MR Brake

Abstract

The passive dynamic control (PDC) is a mechanical system control method based on an inherently safe design means using a brake mechanism effectively. Since the PDC follow-up control can be envisaged as gradually narrowing down the wide area around a control object to enclose it toward the target trajectory, the authors designate this control as “enclosing control.” Here, an experimental setup with an MR brake attached to a rotary pneumatic actuator is equipped, and the effectiveness of the enclosing control is verified by the experimental setup. The MR brake is a braking device with high braking torque and excellent responsiveness.