Short Title: Int. J. Mech. Eng. Robot. Res.
Frequency: Bimonthly
Professor of School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment, Western Sydney University, Australia. His research interests cover Industry 4.0, Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Engineering Materials and Structures (Metals and Composites), Multi-scale Modelling of Materials and Structures, Metal Forming and Metal Surface Treatment.
2024-10-25
2024-09-24
Abstract— Wearable driving systems for labor assistance and rehabilitation, such as power assist suits, have received much attentions and many studies have been done actively. In this study, the final target is to develop a low-cost home rehabilitation device driven by fluidic actuators and low-cost control valves. In the device, the size and cost of control valves become serious concerns. In the previous study, to realize a home rehabilitation device, the flexible spherical actuator that was able to give passive exercise to patients was developed. To drive the actuator, control valves are required. However, a servo valve that can control flow rate in analogue way is very expensive compared with other elements in the pneumatic driving system. Therefore, a low-cost servo valve using buckled tubes was proposed and tested. This valve can control both gas and liquid flow. In this paper, the development of the spherical actuator driven by servo valves using buckled tubes is described as a low-cost home rehabilitation device. The construction and operating principle of the spherical actuator and the servo valve using buckled tube is also described. In addition, the position control using the tested devices is carried out.