Last week, 45 representatives from fluid power manufacturers, researchers, universities and industry associations met in Nashville at Vanderbilt University’s LASIR Laboratory to discuss the future of Human Scale Fluid Power.
Human Scale Fluid Power is, quite simply, about scale, and generally refers to applications under 10 kW. While industrial automation falls under this definition, this niche mostly focuses on human assist/therapeutic devices, medical devices, medical robots, exoskeletons, military robots and untethered devices. Key technologies necessary for Human Scale Fluid Power are advanced pneumatics, miniature hydraulics and compact power.
A strategy for human scale fluid power for CCEFP was proposed and approved in October 2015, and this conference was seen as the next step in developing and pursuing goals for this technology. The Center also hopes, as a result of the event, to identify strategically aligned federal agencies that could be sources of funding.
Co-chairs Prof. Eric Barth of Vanderbilt and Prof. Kim Stelson of the University of Minnesota gave overviews of the CCEFP’s history and funding issues moving forward, as well as the vision and strategy for Human Scale Fluid Power. One new aspect to the CCEFP footprint is the development of “Centers of Excellence” at various universities. These include fluid power manufacturing at Georgia Tech, hydraulic components and systems research at Purdue, test and evaluation at MSOE, Powertrain research at Minnesota—and now pneumatics and Human Scale Fluid Power research at Vanderbilt.
Barth predicted that, “In 30 years, I think you’ll see some form of robot in every home in the U.S.” Between that opportunity and things such as wearable devices, he told the attendees that fluid power had a chance to be a driving force behind how the technology is designed and powered—as opposed to being merely a follower.
The attendees were split into three teams, focusing on different issues:
• MRI compatible, rehabilitation and human assist devices
• Industrial pneumatics and factory automation
• Mobile robots, exoskeletons and compact fluid power components and supplies
Attendees gave the Center some compelling ideas for application areas on where to focus the funding search, including:
• Increasing patient transfer needs due to aging population can result in high rate of caregiver injury; there is a need for assistive devices operable in the home environment, and fluid power provides appropriate force density and compactness
• Material handling needs in industry; there is a high rate of injury (potentially similar to patient transfer needs, simpler and lower risk relative to handling humans)
• Movement assistance devices for neuromuscular impaired population would enhance societal health, productivity and quality of life (emerging market, currently with electrically actuated devices, fluid power devices could improve capability, but requires compact power supply)
• Powered prosthetic limbs (there is currently wide acceptance/use of hydraulic and pneumatic actuation in lower limb prosthetics market, but currently modulated passive; power is an opportunity but requires compact fluid power supply)
• Energy efficiency/achieve more output with equal or less energy (misconception on what makes an efficient system, poorly applied systems are common, lack of awareness/education needed)
• Productivity enhancements (collaborative robots, service robots—even in places like a vineyard or agricultural field)
• Safety (such as robots interacting closely with humans; noise, cleanliness, lost time incidents represents a huge value proposition/$50 billion in back injuries), and
• Additional opportunities exist with underwater robots, wearable exoskeletons, entertainment/sports, the battlefield, rescue/disaster.
Filed Under: Pneumatic Tips