The Mechanical Spindle. A Replica of the Mammalian Muscle Spindle,

Abstract

The goal of the recently initiated anthroform arm main project is to understand the manipulation capabilities of the human arm through the development of a dynamically accurate replica arm. One key element is the mammalian muscle spindle responsible for position and velocity feedback. This paper describes the important spindle features that we are attempting to copy, as well as the mechanical and software aspects of our first prototype. The model and prototype include active modulation of spindles' non-linear response which models the gamma efference. The sensor that was developed can also be used for other applications, and shows unique adaptive properties.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Oct 01, 1994
Accession Number
ADA300380

Entities

People

  • Blake Hannaford
  • Pierre-henry Marbot

Organizations

  • University of Washington

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Control
  • Dc Motors
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering
  • Experimental Data
  • Frequency
  • Gages
  • High Gain
  • Manipulators
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Motors
  • Muscle Fibers
  • Muscles
  • Resonant Frequency
  • Simulators
  • Strain Gages

Readers

  • Molecular Genetics
  • Software Engineering
  • Tribology (the study of the boundary interaction between sliding surfaces, lubrication, wear and friction).