Pneumatic Actuation Systems

The system above is an actuation system for assisting in plantarflexion of a user with full functionality of their ankle. This system incorporates custom made pneumatic valves to control pressure in a bladder actuator constructed of a low strength elastomeric bladder inside a high strength fabric shell. This architecture allowed for an exceptionally high specific power (W/kg) at the ankle. At peaks of 400W the system only weighed 800g (at the joint).