Hironari Taniguchi

Development of new soft actuator using magnetic intelligent fluids for flexible walking robot

The purpose of my work is to develop a new soft actuator with magnetic intelligent fluids such as a magnetic fluid and a magneto-rheological fluid for flexible walking robots. For this purpose, the authors have produced two types of soft magnetic materials. One is called the magnetic fluid rubber that consists of an isoparaffin-based magnetic fluid and elastic silicone rubber. The other is called the magneto-rheological fluid rubber that consists of a polyalphaolefin-based magneto-rheological fluid and elastic silicone rubber. We have developed four types of cylindrical soft actuators using proposed soft magnetic materials. An experimental system was constructed and a response test was made using it. A Laser displacement sensor was employed to find the relationships between the magnetic flux density and the displacement of soft actuator. The experiment showed that the responsibility of soft actuator with the magnetic fluid rubber indicated the best performance. In addition, we operated four electromagnetic coils to control the direction and the displacement of soft actuator. As a result, we have succeeded in moving the tip of soft actuator like drawing a circle. We represented a first possible step towards the development of soft actuator with magnetic functional fluids for flexible walking robots.

Development of separable micro reactor system with integrated fluid control devices for personalized medicine

This paper introduces our project of the micro reactor system with fluid control devices; a micro pump, a micro mixer and a micro valve. A micro reactor creates a high speed and high efficiency chemical process and is expected to develop chemical products and medical devices for personalized medicine. The purpose of my work is to develop a micro reactor system with fluid control devices for personalized medicine. We have developed the micro reactor system with outer dimensions of 148 times 105 mm2 comprising two micro pumps, a micro mixer, a micro valve and a reactor plate made with silicone rubber. A reactor plate connects fluid control devices and forms a channel. A channel of a reactor plate is formed with various shapes in correspondence with a chemical reaction. The system is controlled with an exclusive controller. We tried the mixture experiment with water which colored red and yellow. In conclusion, we suggested that the micro reactor system is easy to handle and portable. We represent a first possible step towards portable micro reactor systems for personalized medicine by applying the example of simple reaction.

Feasibility Test of Range of Motion Exercises for Ankle Joints Rehabilitation Using Pneumatic Soft Actuators

Patients with movement disabilities have been increasing steadily by accidents and diseases. If the condition does not improve, contractures may occur in some joints and muscles. The contractures often tend to occur in ankle joints which are the most important body parts for everyday living. Thus it is important to start rehabilitation therapy shortly after an accident and a disease. The purpose of this study is to develop a rehabilitation device for ankle joints. In our previous study, we proposed a pneumatic actuator with soft material. The actuator has many advantages such as low mass, flexibility, safety, and user-friendliness. Therefore, we focused on the actuator as a drive source of the rehabilitation equipment and the actuator used for the range of motion (ROM) exercises. We measured the ROM needed for ankle joint. As the result, we confirmed that the actuator is able to provide several ROM exercises.

An active micro reactor system with integrated fluid control devices for chemical synthetic process

The aim of this research is to develop a laptop micro reactor system which can apply to many chemical synthetic processes. If we can reach the reactive conditions quickly and effectively using this micro reactor system, the speed of research and development will improve spectacularly. Here we design and fabricate a prototype of micro reactor with integrated fluid control devices. Developed fluid control devices are micro pumps, micro mixers, and a temperature regulator. Especially, the micro mixer is a novel one which has an active mechanism with a magnetic actuator. In the estimation of the micro pump, we have obtained the maximum flow rate and pressure was 1.15 ml/min and 2.76 kPa under the following conditions: voltage, 40 Vp-p; frequency, 2 Hz. In the estimation of micro mixer, we confirmed the effectiveness of the mixing in 0.163 s. The results indicated the availability of these devices. We represent a first possible step towards a laptop micro reactor system for chemical synthetic process.