Version 1
: Received: 16 September 2024 / Approved: 17 September 2024 / Online: 18 September 2024 (10:26:21 CEST)
How to cite:
Mohammadi, V.; Mohammadi Ghalehney, S.; Tajdani, M.; Lee, S. C.; Behboodi, A. Evaluating Stacked Dielectric Elastomer Actuators as Soft Motor Units for Forming Artificial Muscles in Biomimetic Rehabilitation Robots. Preprints2024, 2024091347. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1347.v1
Mohammadi, V.; Mohammadi Ghalehney, S.; Tajdani, M.; Lee, S. C.; Behboodi, A. Evaluating Stacked Dielectric Elastomer Actuators as Soft Motor Units for Forming Artificial Muscles in Biomimetic Rehabilitation Robots. Preprints 2024, 2024091347. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1347.v1
Mohammadi, V.; Mohammadi Ghalehney, S.; Tajdani, M.; Lee, S. C.; Behboodi, A. Evaluating Stacked Dielectric Elastomer Actuators as Soft Motor Units for Forming Artificial Muscles in Biomimetic Rehabilitation Robots. Preprints2024, 2024091347. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1347.v1
APA Style
Mohammadi, V., Mohammadi Ghalehney, S., Tajdani, M., Lee, S. C., & Behboodi, A. (2024). Evaluating Stacked Dielectric Elastomer Actuators as Soft Motor Units for Forming Artificial Muscles in Biomimetic Rehabilitation Robots. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1347.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Mohammadi, V., Samuel C.K. Lee and Ahad Behboodi. 2024 "Evaluating Stacked Dielectric Elastomer Actuators as Soft Motor Units for Forming Artificial Muscles in Biomimetic Rehabilitation Robots" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202409.1347.v1
Abstract
The recent commercial availability of stacked dielectric elastomer actuators (SDEAs) has unlocked new opportunities for their application as "artificial skeletal muscles" in rehabilitation robots and powered exoskeletons. Composed of multiple layers of thin, elastic capacitors, these actuators present a lightweight, soft, and acoustically noiseless alternative to traditional DC motor actuators commonly used in rehabilitation robotics, thereby enhancing the natural feel of such systems. Building on our previous research, this study aimed to evaluate the most recent version of commercial SDEAs to assess their potential for mechanizing rehabilitation robots. We quantified the stress and strain behavior and stiffness of these actuators in both single and 1x3 configurations (with three SDEAs connected in series). The actuators demonstrated the capability to generate up to 25 N of force, 103 KPa, a value closely resembling human biceps, with a longitudinal strain measured at about 11%. The significant increase in force generation from 10 N, in the previous version, to 25 N and displacement from 3.3% to 11% substantially enhances the applicability of this actuator rehabilitation robotics. SDEAs' high force generation capability, combined with their strain and stress characteristics comparable to that of human biological muscles make them ideal alternative actuators for biomimetic robots and applications where actuators must operate in the vicinity of the human body.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
