On the Feed-forward control to improve contraction speed of Twisted and Coiled Polymer Fiber actuator and temperature limit

Abstract

In 2014, Haines et al. developed fishing-line artificial muscles, namely Twisted and Coiled Polymer Fiber (TCPF). A TCPF actuator is made of fishing line, therefore it is low costs and light weight. In this research, we construct a feed-forward controller to enhance the response speed of a TCPF. To prevent the rupture due to the rapid heating, we propose a temperature limit function within the feed-forward controller. Control experiments demonstrate that the actuator contraction speed is improved nearly twenty times faster than without control.