3118 アクアハンド : 指圧効果の再現を目指した水道圧駆動アクチュエータの開発(S45-3 フルードパワー機器 III,S45 フルードパワー機器)  [in Japanese] 3118 Development of Aqua-hand : Domestic Water Hydraulic Actuator Aimed for Realization of Finger Pressure  [in Japanese]

The mechanism and the control method of "Aqua Hand" are discussed in this paper, which are aimed to realize the therapeutic massage effect just like the human finger pressure skill. The proposed "Aqua Hand" is composed of the soft and light material, and it can be driven by domestic tap water pressure without electric energy. The developed Aqua Hand suggested the capability of reproduction of the human grasping force with compliance. In addition, two kinds of control valves for Aqua Hand operation are proposed, which are the one to control the pressure proportional to the human-finger pushing force and the other to generate self-oscillation to make Aqua Hand grasped automatically. The validity of the developed Aqua Hand and these valves was experimentally confirmed by comparing muscular hardness of the shoulder between before and after.