A Multi-Technique Measurement and Estimation of Volume for Pneumatic Artificial Muscle

Researchers have developed various different static models for Pneumatic artificial muscle actuators using virtual work technique by using the volume of air entering into the actuator. A comparative study of the measurement and estimation of the air consumption of a pneumatic artificial muscle actuator during its actuation is performed in this article. Such actuators being non-symmetrical, require an extensive hardware to accurately measure their volumes by water displacement technique. The relative performance of two alternative methods, blob analysis and flow rate measurement are analyzed and the anomalies have been reasoned out. A short study on the identification of the actuator inflation process has been performed to show how the estimation technique could be improved.