Replicating Human Anatomy with Vision Controlled Jetting -- A Pneumatic Musculoskeletal Hand and Forearm

TL;DR

This paper presents a biomimetic pneumatic musculoskeletal hand and forearm that replicates human anatomy, demonstrating dexterity and grasping capabilities with independently controlled artificial muscles in a single printed system.

Contribution

It introduces a fully 3D-printed, anatomically inspired hand and forearm with pneumatic artificial muscles, advancing soft robotic actuation and human-like dexterity.

Findings

PAMs achieve up to 30.1% strain at lower cost.

System successfully performs diverse grasping tasks.

Independent finger control enables human-like dexterity.

Abstract

The functional replication and actuation of complex structures inspired by nature is a longstanding goal for humanity. Creating such complex structures combining soft and rigid features and actuating them with artificial muscles would further our understanding of natural kinematic structures. We printed a biomimetic hand in a single print process comprised of a rigid skeleton, soft joint capsules, tendons, and printed touch sensors. We showed it's actuation using electric motors. In this work, we expand on this work by adding a forearm that is also closely modeled after the human anatomy and replacing the hand's motors with 22 independently controlled pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). Our thin, high-strain (up to 30.1%) PAMs match the performance of state-of-the-art artificial muscles at a lower cost. The system showcases human-like dexterity with independent finger movements, demonstrating successful grasping of various objects, ranging from a small, lightweight coin to a large can of 272g in weight. The performance evaluation, based on fingertip and grasping forces along with finger joint range of motion, highlights the system's potential.