An Electrorheological Fluid Actuator for Rehabilitation Robotics
An Electrorheological Fluid Actuator for Rehabilitation Robotics
复制标题
DOI：
10.1109/tmech.2018.2869126
复制
发表时间：
2018-09
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
J. Davidson;H. Krebs
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Davidson;H. Krebs
将康复机器人从诊所环境转移到家庭可以显着提高中风幸存者治疗的强度和可及性。家用康复机器人必须变得更小、更便宜。在本文中，我们考虑了一种用于人机交互的新型概念验证执行器。该执行器采用了一种原型电流变流体，该流体是为解决文献中先前报道的问题而开发的。两个电流变液离合器相对地布置在差速机构中。流体离合器将输出与齿轮直流电机的固有高阻抗分开。将预测扭矩的数学模型与扭矩测量值进行比较。离合器可在 3 kV/mm 的电场强度下传递约 1.1 N·m 的扭矩。还开发了一个测试台来研究使用运动反馈来调制输出阻抗的设备的可变阻抗控制。根据经验得出的模型用于对电压/扭矩进行编程，以响应位置扰动。所提出的设计的一个好处是能够静态地共同激活两个离合器以增加输出阻抗，这可能对训练有好处。我们还讨论了用于人体康复机器人的电流变流体执行器的优点和缺点。
Transitioning rehabilitation robots from the clinic environment to the home could significantly increase the intensity and accessibility of therapy to stroke survivors. Home-based rehabilitation robots must become smaller and cheaper. In this paper, we consider a novel proof-of-concept actuator for human–machine interaction. The actuator incorporates a prototype electrorheological fluid developed to address issues previously reported in the literature. Two electrorheological fluid clutches are antagonistically arranged in a differential mechanism. The fluid clutches uncouple the output from the intrinsically high impedance of a geared dc motor. Mathematical modeling of predicted torque was compared with torque measurements. The clutches can transfer approximately 1.1 N·m at an electric field strength of 3 kV/mm. A testbed was also developed to study variable impedance control with the device where motion feedback was used to modulate the output impedance. An empirically derived model was used to program voltages/torques in response to perturbations in position. A benefit of the proposed design is the ability to statically coactivate both clutches to increase output impedance, which could potentially have benefits for training. We also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of electrorheological fluid actuators for human rehabilitation robotics.