Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators
Soft robotic approaches have been trialed for rehabilitation or assistive hand exoskeletons using silicone or textile actuators because they have more tolerance for alignment with biological joints than rigid exoskeletons. Textile actuators have not been previously evaluated, and this study compares...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.924888/full |
| _version_ | 1828760086156148736 |
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| author | Orion Ramos Marcela Múnera Mehran Moazen Helge Wurdemann Carlos A. Cifuentes Carlos A. Cifuentes |
| author_facet | Orion Ramos Marcela Múnera Mehran Moazen Helge Wurdemann Carlos A. Cifuentes Carlos A. Cifuentes |
| author_sort | Orion Ramos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soft robotic approaches have been trialed for rehabilitation or assistive hand exoskeletons using silicone or textile actuators because they have more tolerance for alignment with biological joints than rigid exoskeletons. Textile actuators have not been previously evaluated, and this study compares the mechanical properties of textile and silicone actuators used in hand exoskeletons. The physical dimensions, the air pressure required to achieve a full bending motion, and the forces generated at the tip of the actuator were measured and compared. The results showed that the construction method of the silicone actuators is slower than the textile actuators, but it generates better dimensional accuracy. However, the air pressure required for the actuators to generate a full bending motion is significantly lower for textile actuators, and the blocking force generated at that pressure is 35% higher in the textile actuators. There are significant differences across all variables compared, indicating that actuators constructed using pleated textile techniques have greater potential for the construction of an exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation or assistance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:08:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-462c8ea9f065453cbb9c79dd8de9eb5b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-4185 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T01:08:35Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology |
| spelling | doaj.art-462c8ea9f065453cbb9c79dd8de9eb5b2022-12-22T01:26:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology2296-41852022-07-011010.3389/fbioe.2022.924888924888Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone ActuatorsOrion Ramos0Marcela Múnera1Mehran Moazen2Helge Wurdemann3Carlos A. Cifuentes4Carlos A. Cifuentes5Biomedical Engineering Department, Department of Biomedical and Electronic Engineering, Colombian School of Engineering Julio Garavito, Bogota, ColombiaBiomedical Engineering Department, Department of Biomedical and Electronic Engineering, Colombian School of Engineering Julio Garavito, Bogota, ColombiaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, United KingdomDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, United KingdomSchool of Engineering, Science and Technology, Universidad del Rosario, Bogota, ColombiaBristol Robotics Laboratory, University of the West of England, Bristol, United KingdomSoft robotic approaches have been trialed for rehabilitation or assistive hand exoskeletons using silicone or textile actuators because they have more tolerance for alignment with biological joints than rigid exoskeletons. Textile actuators have not been previously evaluated, and this study compares the mechanical properties of textile and silicone actuators used in hand exoskeletons. The physical dimensions, the air pressure required to achieve a full bending motion, and the forces generated at the tip of the actuator were measured and compared. The results showed that the construction method of the silicone actuators is slower than the textile actuators, but it generates better dimensional accuracy. However, the air pressure required for the actuators to generate a full bending motion is significantly lower for textile actuators, and the blocking force generated at that pressure is 35% higher in the textile actuators. There are significant differences across all variables compared, indicating that actuators constructed using pleated textile techniques have greater potential for the construction of an exoskeleton for hand rehabilitation or assistance.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.924888/fullassessmentsoft actuatorssoft roboticsfiber-reinforcedtextile actuatorhand exoskeleton |
| spellingShingle | Orion Ramos Marcela Múnera Mehran Moazen Helge Wurdemann Carlos A. Cifuentes Carlos A. Cifuentes Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology assessment soft actuators soft robotics fiber-reinforced textile actuator hand exoskeleton |
| title | Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators |
| title_full | Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators |
| title_short | Assessment of Soft Actuators for Hand Exoskeletons: Pleated Textile Actuators and Fiber-Reinforced Silicone Actuators |
| title_sort | assessment of soft actuators for hand exoskeletons pleated textile actuators and fiber reinforced silicone actuators |
| topic | assessment soft actuators soft robotics fiber-reinforced textile actuator hand exoskeleton |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2022.924888/full |
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