ROMAC, THE PNEUMATIC MUSCLE Actuator pulls 10,000 pounds using 60 psi A pneumatic actuator based on the principle of the human biceps has come to our attention in the form of a patent disclosure. The ROMAC, under development by MacDonald Detwiller & Associates of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, works on low-pressure (shop) air and can …
Read More “1986 – ROMAC Pneumatic Actuator – Guy Immega and Mirko Kukolj (American)”
The arm above is based on an experimental system of pneumatic muscles. Air is forced into the muscle bags, which expand but shrink in length. String tendons link the muscles to the bones, resulting in movement of the limbs. The robot was developed by The Original Android Company [RH-2012-Now defunct], in association with the …
Read More “1981 – Pneumatic Mannequin Arm – Tim Jones (British)”
Although "fluidic actuators" had been around for a long time prior to Joseph Laws McKibben's invention, none had been used previously for prosthetic applications, yet alone robotics. It was McKibben's use that coined the term "Artificial Muscle". Joe McKibben talks about his invention: More Help For Polio Victims To bring motion to his little daughter's polio-paralyzed hands, Dr. …
Read More “1957 – “Artificial Muscle” – Joseph Laws McKibben (American)”
Patent number: 5845540 Filing date: Sep 25, 1997 Issue date: Dec 8, 1998 See full patent here. Patent Abstract: A pair of connected joints is provided in a master-slave robotic system each operated by a plurality of force-imparting means. Such force imparting means for the second joint supported on a member controlled by the first …
Read More “1997 – Robotic Master-Slave Manipulator – Mark E. Rosheim (American)”
TeleOperator/telePresence System / Concept Verification Model (CVM) The TeleOperator/telePresence System/Concept Verification Model (TOPS/CVM)[34], was developed as the successor to the 'Greenman'. The TOPS/CVM consisted of a 3-DOF (degrees-of-freedom) head, a 3-DOF torso and a dexterous, force-reflective 9- DOF hand coupled to a force-reflective 7-DOF arm. Fig. 1 TOPS from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, San …
Read More “1991 – TOPS TeleOperator/telePresence System – Smith and Shimamoto (American)”