Controlling of Pneumatic Muscle Actuator Systems by Parallel Structure of Neural Network and Proportional Controllers (PNNP)

This article proposed a novel controller structure to track the non-linear behavior of the pneumatic muscle actuator (PMA), such as the elongation for the extensor actuator and bending for the bending PMA. The proposed controller consists of a neural network (NN) controller laid in parallel with the proportional controller (P). The parallel neural network proportional (PNNP) controllers provide a high level of precision and fast-tracking control system. The PNNP has been applied to control the length of the single extensor PMA and the bending angle of the single self-bending contraction actuator (SBCA) at different load values. For further validation, the PNNP has been applied to control a human–robot shared control system. The results show the efficiency of the proposed controller structure.