Design and Control of Robotic Systems Using Bio-Inspired Artificial Muscle Recruitment Strategy

Bowers, Matthew P.

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Design and Control of Robotic Systems Using Bio-Inspired Artificial Muscle Recruitment Strategy

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Even before the word “robot” was formally introduced the goal has been to create a synthetic system in our image. Clearly, human-like or biologically more realistic robots have a much better chance for safer, easier, and more universal interaction with humans. Hence, in order to move robots from factory lanes that prohibit human presence into our homes it is necessary to create that huge leap from the 20th century senseless, zero intelligence, high-gain, position controlled rigid machine to more human-like robots. This is also critical for the advancement of prosthetics and assistive devices. In nature, the actuator that is used across species is the familiar biological muscle. Perhaps it is less known that each muscle in the human body consists of more than a hundred motor units that can be selectively recruited. As form and function are naturally intertwined, what are the mechanical and control advantages of this dominant actuation architecture? How can this architecture help us create more human-like robots? To address these and other questions a biologically inspired leg will be designed with multiple independently controlled artificial muscles acting in parallel, allowing the use of a bio-inspired recruitment control strategy. More specifically this actuation architecture will be explored in the development and testing a variety of robotic legs. Control of compliant artificial muscles is clearly challenging, but through the design and use of novel hydraulic system elements, modeling, as well as the implementation of bio-inspired control strategies, successful, human-like performance, can be achieved.

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