Act naturally

03 May, 2016

“Activation via our VEAB piezo valves makes these properties even more apparent,” says Lorenz. “And of course with the fluidic muscle, there is no need for any complex hydraulic or electrical constructions. These advantages are particularly critical in the area of animatronics, which is all about combining the most lifelike movement possible with appropriate communication. This is precisely what people expect when they encounter humanoid technology and interact with it.”

Piezo valves are often a better alternative to conventional solenoid valves, especially in flow and pressure control. They are also ideal for directly controlled proportional valves, as used in the RoboThespian, because they are small, lightweight, extremely precise, very durable, incredibly fast and require up to 50 per cent less energy. Furthermore, they hardly generate any heat and work almost silently. These properties make them perfect for use in laboratory and medical technology automation.

Suitable for many other applications

Festo’s fluidic muscle is suitable for many other applications. The pneumatic muscle has already proven and established itself in many application areas in industrial automation. For example: as a pneumatic spring to control tensile stresses on belts, ropes, chains etc., and to regulate them sensitively; as a means of generating high clamping forces on a small diameter, for example when fixing components in moulds or machines; and for targeted shaking and fast vibration, as required in feeder and filling technology.

RoboThespian is an interesting example of human-machine interaction. The project epitomises the future potential of Industry 4.0 in a most impressive style: humans create and program the machine, which then responds largely autonomously and flexibly to its environment.

www.festo.co.uk/fluidicmuscle