In current research on soft grippers,pneumatically actuated soft grippers are generally fabricated using fully soft materials,which have the advantage of flexibility as well as the disadvantages of a small gripping fo...In current research on soft grippers,pneumatically actuated soft grippers are generally fabricated using fully soft materials,which have the advantage of flexibility as well as the disadvantages of a small gripping force and slow response speed.To improve these characteristics,a novel pneumatic soft gripper with a jointed endoskeleton structure(E-Gripper)is developed,in which the muscle actuating function has been separated from the force bearing function.The soft action of an E-Gripper finger is performed by some air chambers surrounded by multilayer rubber embedded in the restraining fiber.The gripping force is borne and transferred by the rigid endoskeleton within the E-Gripper finger Thus,the gripping force and action response speed can be increased while the flexibility is maintained.Through experiments,the bending angle of each finger segment,response time,and gripping force of the E-Gripper have been measured,which provides a basis for designing and controlling the soft gripper The test results have shown that the maximum gripping force of the E-Gripper can be 35 N,which is three times greater than that of a fully soft gripper(FS-Gripper)of the same size.At the maximum charging pressure of 150 kPa,the response time is1.123 s faster than that of the FS-Gripper.The research results indicate that the flexibility of a pneumatic soft gripper is not only maintained in the case of the E-Gripper,but its gripping force is also obviously increased,and the response time is reduced.The E-Gripper thus shows great potential for future development and applications.展开更多
Joint hypermobility syndrome is a condition in which a joint can move effortlessly beyond the normal limit of motion expected for that joint. This syndrome is affected by some factors including gender and tends to be ...Joint hypermobility syndrome is a condition in which a joint can move effortlessly beyond the normal limit of motion expected for that joint. This syndrome is affected by some factors including gender and tends to be inherited. It may cause some symptoms such as pain in an individual’s synovial joints. The objective of the current study was to compare the energy loss of connective tissues between joints with and without hypermobility. A differential equation model, namely the Kelvin-Voigt model, was used for the energy loss analysis. The results show the difference in energy loss for the tissues attached to joints with and without joint hypermobility. As the stiffness of the connective tissue decreases, the energy loss increases. Muscle activity about the ankle was measured via electromyography during simple functional tasks, and the recorded data were used to correlate with the theoretical analysis of the energy loss. The result would shed light on the pathology analysis of the symptoms such as the cause of pain.展开更多
基金Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.51305202)Jiangsu Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.BK20130764)
文摘In current research on soft grippers,pneumatically actuated soft grippers are generally fabricated using fully soft materials,which have the advantage of flexibility as well as the disadvantages of a small gripping force and slow response speed.To improve these characteristics,a novel pneumatic soft gripper with a jointed endoskeleton structure(E-Gripper)is developed,in which the muscle actuating function has been separated from the force bearing function.The soft action of an E-Gripper finger is performed by some air chambers surrounded by multilayer rubber embedded in the restraining fiber.The gripping force is borne and transferred by the rigid endoskeleton within the E-Gripper finger Thus,the gripping force and action response speed can be increased while the flexibility is maintained.Through experiments,the bending angle of each finger segment,response time,and gripping force of the E-Gripper have been measured,which provides a basis for designing and controlling the soft gripper The test results have shown that the maximum gripping force of the E-Gripper can be 35 N,which is three times greater than that of a fully soft gripper(FS-Gripper)of the same size.At the maximum charging pressure of 150 kPa,the response time is1.123 s faster than that of the FS-Gripper.The research results indicate that the flexibility of a pneumatic soft gripper is not only maintained in the case of the E-Gripper,but its gripping force is also obviously increased,and the response time is reduced.The E-Gripper thus shows great potential for future development and applications.
文摘Joint hypermobility syndrome is a condition in which a joint can move effortlessly beyond the normal limit of motion expected for that joint. This syndrome is affected by some factors including gender and tends to be inherited. It may cause some symptoms such as pain in an individual’s synovial joints. The objective of the current study was to compare the energy loss of connective tissues between joints with and without hypermobility. A differential equation model, namely the Kelvin-Voigt model, was used for the energy loss analysis. The results show the difference in energy loss for the tissues attached to joints with and without joint hypermobility. As the stiffness of the connective tissue decreases, the energy loss increases. Muscle activity about the ankle was measured via electromyography during simple functional tasks, and the recorded data were used to correlate with the theoretical analysis of the energy loss. The result would shed light on the pathology analysis of the symptoms such as the cause of pain.
