Novel Deployment Possibilities of Pneumatic Muscles in Rehabilitation and Gripping

One of the most attractive aspects of pneumatic actuation is the light weight of the utilized components causing favourable response to commands.This positive response also known as compliance is due to air compressibility and can be adjusted via the control pressure.Compliance is an essential feature in the man-machine relationship as well as in high-precision operations like the handling of fragile objects or automated assembling.This feature ensures delicate contact and the safety of the human operator.The pneumatic muscle is an actuator with inherently compliant behaviour, rendering it adequate for equipment that requires a response of this type.The paper presents technical solutions developed by the authors involving the utilization of pneumatic muscles in medical rehabilitation equipment and soft gripper systems.