Replicating Human Anatomy with Vision Controlled Jetting -- A Pneumatic Musculoskeletal Hand and Forearm
<|reference_start|>Replicating Human Anatomy with Vision Controlled Jetting -- A Pneumatic Musculoskeletal Hand and Forearm: 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.<|reference_end|>
@article{buchner2024replicating,
    title={Replicating Human Anatomy with Vision Controlled Jetting -- A Pneumatic
  Musculoskeletal Hand and Forearm},
    author={Thomas Buchner (1), Stefan Weirich (1), Alexander M. K"ubler (1),
  Wojciech Matusik (2,3), and Robert K. Katzschmann (1) ((1) ETH Zurich,
  Switzerland, (2) Inkbit, USA, (3) CSAIL, MIT, USA)},
    journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.19077},
    year={2024},
    archivePrefix={arXiv},
    eprint={2404.19077},
    primaryClass={cs.RO}
}