Eric Michael Weissman
Engineering (robotics)
Hometown: Tempe, Arizona, United States
Graduation date: Spring 2025
MORE | Fall 2024
Fiber Reinforced Pneumatic Twisted-and-Coiled Actuators with High Efficiency and Low Actuation Pressure
Pneumatic twisted-and-coiled actuators (PTCAs) offer many desirable attributes as a soft robotic muscle such as linear contraction with negligible radial expansion, high energy density, compliance, low cost, and low response times. However, their low efficiency (9%) and high-pressure requirements (over 240 psi), compared with other pneumatic actuators, limits their effectiveness in robotics applications. This work proposed the fiber-reinforced pneumatic twisted-and-coiled actuators (FR-PTCA) that address these shortcomings by introducing a fiber reinforcement on the PTCA tube to enforce the tube anisotropy. The FR-PTCA, compared with conventional PTCAs, has 1) increased energy efficiency and 2) enabled low-pressure actuation. In addition, this work also presents a generalized analytical model of the FR-PTCA, allowing for design optimization and model-based control. The benefits of these novel actuators and their associated model are then exemplified by demonstrating the controlled usage of the muscle in a continuum robot and in an untethered quadruped robot.
Mentor: Jiefeng Sun
It’s hip to be square.
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