Because of the growing need for smaller sized actuators in robotic systems in industrial, bio-mechanical and other applications, the interest in using miniature pneumatic muscles is increasing. With advancements in the field of actuators, the need for high precision and fast responses of control systems is also increasing. For these reasons, this master's thesis consists of analyzing the effects of pneumatic muscles component dimensions, designing miniature pneumatic muscles, developing a control algorithm and a testing rig for controlling two antagonistically connected pneumatic muscles. The first part of the master's thesis consists of a thorough literature overview of pneumatic muscles and control algorithms. The second part presents a concept of miniature pneumatic muscle and experimental analysis to determine the effect of different dimension relations of the inner membrane and outer strengthening fibers. The third part explains the development of a new control algorithm for controlling two antagonistically connected pneumatic muscles. An upgrade of the already designed A-PID (Adaptive PID) control algorithm is also shown, as well as the construction of the testing rig for measuring the muscle's response. In the end, a comparison is made between data from already known systems and the results of our newly developed control algorithm.
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