EPSRC logo

Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: GR/M73866/01
Title: 'SOFT' ACTUATORS - REDUNDANT & SELF-HEALING OPERATION FOR BIO-MIMETIC SYSTEMS
Principal Investigator: Caldwell, Professor DG
Other Investigators:
Hill, Dr S Medrano-Cerda, Dr G
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
BNFL Digital World Centre United States Airforce
Department: Research Inst for Advanced Engineering
Organisation: University of Salford
Scheme: Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts: 01 November 1999 Ends: 31 January 2003 Value (£): 242,611
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
Robotics & Autonomy
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
Food and Drink Information Technologies
No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:
Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The success of modem production techniques has been a testament to the effectiveness of current industrial design strategies. However, there is a growing feeling that the development of core technologies for the next generation of mechatronic systems will require a fundamental paradigm change, with a general evolution of design principles from the usual-schema of bearing-gears-motors to a novel bio-mimetic mechanism of bone-joint-tendons. This paradigm shift will involve new materials and mechanisms that will be integrated following biologically inspired operational, regeneration and redundancy patterns. Among the most fundamental features of this change of perspective will be the need for new actuation systems which can emulate the performance of natural muscle in forming a safe and natural _interaction medium while still possessing the beneficial performance attributes of conventional engineering actuators. This change to closer interaction with machines will emphasize the need for safety, redundancy, self-repair and affinity, and the benefit of softness in machines, both in terms of functional softness and physical softness.This work will involve the development of new self repairing and adaptively regenerating 'soft' actuators that can be used effectively to mimic the macroscopic actions of biological muscle. The improved high performance properties of these actuators will be incorporated into a biologically accurate humanoid robot (biped motion. 7 dot arms and dexterous hands) that will demonstrate the potential of these new systems in a highly integrated, redundant and novel technology demonstrator.
Key Findings
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Potential use in non-academic contexts
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Impacts
Description This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Summary
Date Materialised
Sectors submitted by the Researcher
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
Project URL:  
Further Information:  
Organisation Website: http://www.salford.ac.uk