This thesis concerns the design, construction, control, and testing of soft robotic
actuators to be used in a soft robotic exoskeleton; the Boa Exoskeleton could be used for
joint rehabilitation including: wrist, elbow and possibly shoulder or any joint that requires
a soft body actuator to aid with bending movement. We detail the design, modeling and
fabrication of two types of actuators: Fiber-reinforced Actuator and PneuNet Actuator.
Fiber-Reinforced actuator was chosen for the exoskeleton due to its higher force. The
Fiber-Reinforced actuator molds were 3D printed, four models were made. Two materials
were used to fabricate the models: Dragon Skin 30A and Sort-A-Clear 40A. Two number
of windings: (n=40) and (n=25), actuators wrapped with carbon fiber. An air tank was used
to supply pressure. The actuators were studied at different pressures. Pressure-force
relation was studied, and a close to linear relationship was found. Boa Exoskeleton was
made for wrist. Electromyography (EMG) was used; Four EMG receptors were put around
the arm. EMG was utilized to actuate the Boa Exoskeleton and record the muscle
movement. Five tests were done on six human subjects to validate the Boa Exoskeleton. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fau.edu/oai:fau.digital.flvc.org:fau_40754 |
Contributors | Shuqir, Mohammad (author), Engeberg, Erik (Thesis advisor), Florida Atlantic University (Degree grantor), College of Engineering and Computer Science, Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering |
Publisher | Florida Atlantic University |
Source Sets | Florida Atlantic University |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation, Text |
Format | 121 p., application/pdf |
Rights | Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder., http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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