Smart Fluid Actuators

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Smart fluids have the unique property of changing their physical properties upon application of electric or magnetic fields. In particular, MagnetoRheological Fluids (MRF) are now used in many commercial applications such as automotive shock absorbers to control vehicle motion in a semi-active way. This Canada Research Chair studies a fully-active actuator design paradigm using MRF for robotics and mechatronics systems. By modulating the torque of MRF clutches under continuous slippage, this new approach leads a new class of actuator systems that have the high bandwidths of direct-drive electromagnetic actuators while having the force density of hydraulic actuators. Further, MRF are fundamentally reliable since they have no direct metal-to-metal contacts that can lead to mechanical jams. Such characteristics enable new applications where high performance and lightweight is needed such as aircraft flight control. The Canada Research Chair work will develop enabling knowledge and technologies by: (1) understanding MRF aging and developing long lasting MR fluids, and (2) developing optimal robotic system architectures exploiting this new class of actuators.