NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL MUSCLE ELEMENTS AS ROBOT ACTUATORS

The performance of actuators is critical in determining the strength, speed of motion, power, response rate, compactness and, in many cases, the compliance exhibited by robots. Unfortunately, present drive systems seldom achieve these demands, and they will be further constrained by future generations of autonomous or semi-autonomous robots. This paper considers the requirements for a truly flexible actuation system and power source, using natural animal muscle as a basis for specification of future actuator performance characteristics. Based on these requirements the potential of a chemically stimulated polymeric actuation system; which, on a macroscopic scale replicates muscle action, is appraised for use as a drive unit for a robotic gripper.