Use of McKibben muscle in a haptic interface

Abstract

One of the most relevant issues in the development of a haptic interface is the choice of the actuators that are devoted to generating the reflection forces. This work has been particularly focused on the employment of the McKibben muscle to this aim. A prototype of one finger has been realized that is intended to be part of a haptic glove, and is based on an articulated mechanism driven by a McKibben muscle. A dynamic model of the finger has been created and validated; then, it has been used to define the control algorithm of the device. Experimental tests highlighted the static and dynamic effectiveness of the device and proved that a McKibben muscle can be appropriately used in such an application.