Pneumatic artificial muscles are pneumatic devices with practical and various applications as common actuators. They, as human muscles, work in agonistic-antagonistic way, giving a traction force only when supplied by compressed air. The state of the art of soft pneumatic actuators is here analyzed: different models of pneumatic muscles are considered and evolution lines are presented. Then, the use of Pneumatic Muscles (PAM) in rehabilitation apparatus is described and the general characteristics required in different applications are considered, analyzing the use of proper soft actuators with various technical properties. Therefore, research activity carried out in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the field of soft and textile actuators is presented here. In particular, pneumatic textile muscles useful for active suits design are described. These components are made of a tubular structure, with an inner layer of latex coated with a deformable outer fabric sewn along the edge. In order to increase pneumatic muscles forces and contractions Braided Pneumatic Muscles are studied. In this paper, new prototypes are presented, based on a fabric construction and various kinds of geometry. Pressure-force-deformation tests results are carried out and analyzed. These actuators are useful for rehabilitation applications. In order to reproduce the whole upper limb movements, new kind of soft actuators are studied, based on the same principle of planar membranes deformation. As an example, the bellows muscle model and worm muscle model are developed and described. In both cases, wide deformations are expected. Another issue for soft actuators is the pressure therapy. Some textile sleeve prototypes developed for massage therapy on patients suffering of lymph edema are analyzed. Different types of fabric and assembly techniques have been tested. In general, these Pressure Soft Actuators are useful for upper/lower limbs treatments, according to medical requirements. In particular devices useful for arms massage treatments are considered. Finally some applications are considered.

The study of innovative textile muscles is useful for the construction of prototypes of active suits. These suits are obtained by inserting small pneumatic muscles into a vest. The muscles allow some movements of the upper limb to be made for rehabilitation or motor recuperation purposes. An innovative textile bellows muscle is presented in this paper, where its performances have been evaluated by means of both an analytic and a numerical model.

This article presents the kinematic analysis of the tine motion of a rotary harrow. In particular, it analyses the trajectories that the tines describe when they are pulled by the motion of the tractor and rotated by the rotors. This analysis, has led to the identification of the parameters that influence the motion of the tines and how these parameters intervene in the secondary tillage. The interaction between the tines and the soil is evaluated considering a plastic soil, i.e. without any cleavage and its propagation. With this hypothesis, the dimensions of the soil clods created by the passage of the tines in the soil have been analysed. The trajectories described by the tines of the machine, and therefore the dimensions of the portions of worked or unworked soil, are influenced by the operating parameters of the soil tillage process, such as the tractor speed and the angular speed of the tines themselves. Furthermore, a contribution is also given by the geometric parameters of the machine, such as the rotor radius and the geometric configuration of the rotary harrow in terms of rotor arrangement. This study is based on the creation of a mathematical model of the trajectories of the tines of a rotary harrow during soil tillage. The model is parametric and makes it possible to simulate and optimise the tillage process. The approach adopted also makes it possible to visualise the trajectories in graphic form for an easy visual interpretation of the results.

In recent years, the use of pneumatics in innovative actuation systems has led to the development, testing and first applications of nonconventional actuators such as pneumatic muscles. Like human muscles, pneumatic muscles can exert only traction forces, and offer a good power-to-weight ratio. The paper will present an investigation of new pneumatic muscles with a fabric structure. Lightweight, robust and efficient, these muscles can be used in a wide range of fields, from biomedical to industrial applications.

Two mechatronics prototypes, useful for robotic neurotreatments and new clinical trainings, are here presented. P.I.G.R.O. (pneumatic interactive gait rehabilitation orthosis) is an active exoskeleton with an electropneumatic control. It imposes movements on lower limbs in order to produce in the patient’s brain proper motor cortex activation. Bra.Di.P.O. (brain discovery pneumatic orthosis) is an MR-compatible device, designed to improve fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) analysis. The two devices are presented together because both are involved in the study of new robotic treatments of patients affected by ictus or brain stroke or in some motor learning experimental investigations carried out on healthy subjects.