Sarcomere Inspired Linear Actuator

设计一种能够真正匹配所需功率/重量比的电动执行器。对于一个“主动”的脚踝或膝关节假体来说，这是一个重大的技术挑战，也是这项研究项目的驱动力。新的执行器必须提供经济高效、高度紧凑和更强大的单元，能够适应缺少肢体的体积，并且必须显著提高用户对目前市场上的设备的“可控性”，通过与正常人类预期兼容的用户界面提供更好的性能，因此更直观和更容易控制。这应该允许人体产生·假肢的自由摆动，只要有可能，就利用“被动动力学”，从而保护便携式电源，并保持佩戴者的自然行走步态。无噪音运行、坚固耐用、减少污染物进入，以及由于效率高和无磨损表面而有可能实现长占空比，预计还具有进一步的优势。新的执行器有望成为机器人、工业、医疗、汽车和航空航天应用中现有执行器的有吸引力的替代品--提供更可控、更可靠的部件。特别是，能够在减震模式下控制执行器可能对工业自动化和过程控制特别有吸引力，在工业自动化和过程控制中，制造停机可能发生在碰撞并失败的组件中，因为它们不具有减震功能。

Designing an electrical actuator that can truly match the power/weight ratio needed. for an 'active' ankle or knee prosthesis presents significant technical challenges and isthe driver for this research project. The new actuator must provide a cost-effective,highly compact and more powerful unit able to fit within the volume of the absent limbsections and must offer significantly improved user 'controllability' over devicescurrently on the market, oelivering performance through a user interface compatiblewith normal human expectation and therefore be more intuitive and easier to control.Elumotion's target is that actuator components will be electrically controlled with nomechanical engagement. This should permit body generated free-swing of the·prosthetic limb, making use, whenever possible, of 'passive dynamics' so enablingconservation of portable power supplies and preservation of the wearers naturalwalking gait. Further advantages are anticipated from noise-free operation, robustnessto contaminant ingress and the potential for long duty cycles due to high efficienciesand the absence of wearing surfaces. The new actuator is expected to be attractive asa replacement for existing actuators in robotic, industrial, medical, automotive andaerospace applications - offering a significantly more controllable and more reliablecomponent. In particular being able to control the actuator in a shock absorbing modemay be particularly attractive to industrial automation and process control, wheremanufacturing downtime can occur from assemblies that collide and fail as they do notpossess a shock absorbing feature.