Development of a Pneumatic Cylinders-Driven Arm Wrestling Robot System Worn on the Human Upper Limb(Mechanical Systems)

Abstract

In this study, we develop a prototype of pneumatic cylinders-driven arm wrestling robot system called AssistRobot worn on the human upper limb. AssistRobot with 2 pneumatic cylinders and a force sensor can control the force sense to operator's shoulder and elbow. Next, we measure simultaneously human upper limb motion and physiological index of skin surface electromyograms with circulation dynamics in response to forced actions by using the links mechanism of the system. The effectiveness of the system for the analysis of human upper limb motion characteristics is demonstrated. Further, we introduce a force display response model based on the impact absorption of human hand, proposed earlier by the authors, into the system. The effectiveness of the system for arm wrestling is demonstrated by sensory evaluation from viewpoints of user-friendliness and enjoyment.