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The McKibben artificial muscle is considered to be a good actuator for musculoskeletal robots because its compliance and contraction properties are similar to those of animal muscles. However, there are still some limitations to its application to musculoskeletal robots. Although the thin McKibben muscle developed by our research group is an improvement from the conventional one, it has a fatal disadvantage–it cannot be relaxed unlike real muscles. However, the braided McKibben muscle, previously proposed by our research group, can be elongated by applying an external force that can realize muscle relaxation. In this study, we improved its existing structure to provide sufficient durability, enabling its application to musculoskeletal robots, and investigated the muscle with a focus on passive relaxation. The improved braided McKibben muscle increased the driving range of the joint of a musculoskeletal arm model, and the results were verified numerically and experimentally.

In this project, we aimed to imitate the musculoskeletal system of a dog’s hindlimb and investigate the effect of constraints by the fascia in locomotion. Thin McKibben pneumatic artificial muscles were attached to the dog’s hindlimb skeleton model, referred to as its anatomical structure. A musculoskeletal robot with an animal-like driving system is expected to perform more animal-like movements than existing robots. Therefore, it may enhance the likeability of a robot, which is a crucial factor in Humanrobot interaction(HRI). This project suggests the possibility of developing such a robot. The robot’s locomotion was performed under various constraint conditions. It was confirmed that the loose and ambiguous constraints by the fascia, affect the movement of musculoskeletal robots. In the aspect of constraints, the fascia would be a significant factor in a musculoskeletal robot with an animal-like driving structure.

This research presents Giacometti gait mechanism for the Giacometti robot. Motivated by the Giacometti structure, which is thin and long, the robot has leg design that is non-stiff and deformable which makes it difficult to walk with conventional walking gait. Using the proposed gait, walking experiment was conducted with various input pressure and gait frequency and could achieve stable walking at 0.05m/s.