Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048

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Sensors and Actuators A: Physical

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/sna

Hybrid actuator combining shape memory alloy with DC motor for

prosthetic ngers
Fei Gao a,b , Hua Deng a,b, , Yi Zhang a,b
a
State Key Laboratory of High Performance Complex Manufacturing, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China
b
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Direct Current (DC) motors are widely used in prosthetic hands. Since the power to weight ratio of DC
Received 18 June 2014 motors is relatively low, the driving systems are usually bulky and heavy to meet the requirements for the
Received in revised form grasping speed and force. However, high grasping speed is a basic requirement for the grasping reex to
20 November 2014
prevent the grasped object from slipping. With increasing force, the possibility that grasped objects will
Accepted 20 November 2014
slip off is signicantly reduced. This study proposes a hybrid actuator combining shape memory alloy
Available online 18 December 2014
(SMA) with a micro DC motor for a prosthetic nger. The SMA is used to improve reex speed. Rapid
response can be achieved when SMA is subjected to high voltage. Experimental results show that in the
Keywords:
Prosthetic nger
grasping reex, the rate of force is increased four times, and the sliding displacement of the grasped
Hybrid actuator object subjected to unexpected disturbances is reduced from 10 mm to 5.7 mm.
Grasping reex 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Shape memory alloy

1. Introduction
The recent rapid increase in the number of prosthesis wearers
has made articial anthropomorphic hands one of the most promis-
ing elds. Thus, many novel prosthetic hands have been proposed.
Given their high-efciency and easy-to-control mechanism, DC
motors are widely used as actuators for prosthetic hands [14].
Since the power to weight ratio of DC motors is relatively low,
the driving systems are usually bulky and heavy to meet the
requirements for the grasping speed and force [13]. To downsize
and lighten prosthetic hands, shape memory alloy (SMA) is an
alternative for DC motors [58]. SMA has numerous advantages,
such as high power-to-weight ratio and low driving voltages. Nev-
ertheless, the recoverable deformation of SMA is small (48%).
Moreover, SMA length is considerably long and thus provides suf-
cient displacement for prosthetic hands and further increasing
energy consumption. Consequently, the working time of prosthetic
hands powered by mobile energy signicantly decreases. Other
types of articial anthropomorphic hands, such as pneumatic pros-
thetic hands [9] and hydraulic drive prosthetic hands [10], have
recently been designed. However,both these prosthesis types are
Corresponding author at: School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Cen-
tral South University, Changsha 410083, China. Tel.: +86 731 88836769.
E-mail address: hdeng@csu.edu.cn (H. Deng).
equipped with a bulky actuation system. A robot nger that uses
electro-conjugate uid (ECF) was proposed in [11,12], but a high
DC voltage of approximately 26 kV is required for powering ECF.
Human hands are an ideal example of a natural biomecha-
tronic system that serves as a benchmark for robotic designers
who aim to replicate its complex functionality. Human hands can
slowly approach objects. Thereafter, human hands can conform to
the shape of objects and then subsequently grasp and hold such
objects. When the grasped object encounters unexpected distur-
bance, human hands can rapidly increase the grasping force to
prevent the object from slipping. This functionality is called grasp-
ing reex. In our daily lives, grasping may be stimulated in such
instance as passing objects and pouring water into grasped cups
(Fig. 1).
This study aims to improve the grasping reex performance
of prosthetic hands. A hybrid actuator that combines SMA and a
DC motor for a prosthetic nger is proposed. Some researchers
have proposed hybrid-actuated prosthetic ngers that use SMA and
DC motors [13]. However, SMA is used to increase the degrees of
freedom of the ngers. During grasping, the operation of SMA sig-
nicantly increases energy consumption. In this article, the SMA
used in the proposed hybrid actuator works in the initial stage
of the grasping reex to accelerate the rate of increase in force.
In approaching and grasping the objects, large displacement is
required from the prosthetic nger. Such displacement is supplied
by the DC motor. However, in the grasping reex, a high rate of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sna.2014.11.025
0924-4247/ 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
 F. Gao et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048 41

Fig. 1. Human hand grasping reex.

increase in force is essential. Such increase can be realized by both Pully 1 Spring 1
the DC motor and the SMA. Given that the deformation of the Pully 2 Spring 2 SMA actuator
grasped object and the nger is minimal, the length of SMA is Pully 3
sharply reduced. Therefore, the prosthetic nger becomes highly Dc motor
energy efcient. Spring 3 Rope
Proximal phalanx
Pully 4
Middle phalanx
2. System design

2.1. Prosthetic nger design Distal phalanx

Tendon-driven underactuated prosthetic ngers (TDUPFs)

[1416] implement the soft gripper mechanism proposed by Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of the TDUPF.
Hirose [17]. The three phalanges of ngers are actuated by one
cable. On one hand, the motions of the three phalanges are com-
2.2. Hybrid actuator design
bined during free exing. On the other hand, during grasping of
objects, the three phalanges can adapt themselves to the shape of
The proposed hybrid actuator comprises a motor and an SMA
the object without requiring complex control techniques. In this
actuator, as shown in Fig. 4. The motor actuator comprises a DC
study, a TDUPF is designed and studied, as shown in Fig. 2.
motor (ASLONG JA12-N20 with a 50:1 gearbox), a pair of worm
A schematic diagram of the TDUPF is shown in Fig. 3. The TDUPF
gears (transmission ratio 17:1), which is intended for the prosthetic
can ex as a result of coming in contact with the rope, which runs
ngers to hold objects when the DC motor stops working and to
along its volar side and wraps around idle pulleys placed in each
prevent the DC motor from rotating reversely when the force gen-
joint according to the soft gripper mechanism [17]. The extension
erated by the SMA actuator is larger than the force by DC motor,
of the nger is realized through the springs placed at the back of
and one pulley, which is xed to the gear. When the DC motor
each joint. Thus, the number of motors is reduced, and the actuation
rotates clockwise, the rope is winded around the pulley. Conse-
system becomes light. Some parameters of the TDUPF are shown
quently, the prosthetic nger exes. The SMA actuator consists of
in Table 1.
pulley 6, two SMA wires, namely, SMA 1 and SMA 2 xed to pul-
ley 6, an oscillating bar installed on pulley 6, and pulley 5 xed on
the oscillating bar. SMA 1 is triggered by passing the current and
heating it to Austenite start temperature, thereby making SMA 1

Table 1
Design parameters and values of the TDUPF.

Parameter Value

Length of proximal phalanx 55 mm

Length of middle phalanx 30 mm
Length of distal phalanx 20 mm
Width of the TDUPF 18 mm
Thickness of the TDUPF 18 mm
Weight of the TDUPF 63 g
Radius of pulley 1 5 mm
Radius of pulley 2 2.5 mm
Radius of pulley 3 5 mm
Radius of pulley 4 2.5 mm
Stiffness coefcient of spring 1 0.4 N/mm
Stiffness coefcient of spring 2 0.8 N/mm
Stiffness coefcient of spring 3 0.4 N/mm
Fig. 2. Photograph of the TDUPF.
42 F. Gao et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048

SMA actuator Motor actuator

Tension Dc motor Worm

Oscillating bar Rope
adjusting bolt 2 SMA 1
Spindle 1 x
Spindle 2
T
Pulley 5

Gear
Pulley 1

Tension SMA 2 Pulley 6

Pulley blocks adjusting bolt 1

Dc motor Worm
Rope
x

Tension
adjusting bolt 2 Oscillating bar T
SMA 1
Gear

Pulley 5 Pulley 1

Pulley 6
Pulley blocks SMA 2

Hybrid actuator
Fig. 4. Concept of the hybrid actuator.

contract. The oscillating bar then rotates counterclockwise. SMA
2 is actuated, and then contracts, thus making the oscillating bar
rotate clockwise. Given that the recoverable deformation of SMA
is minimal (48%), pulley blocks are used to improve the length of
SMA wires with limited space. To reduce the clearance, a tension
device is designed for the SMA actuator, as shown in Fig. 5. The SMA
wires are xed to the tension-adjusting bolt. Turning the tension-
adjusting bolt, the rope is winded around it to reduce clearance.
Finally, a nut is used to prevent the tension adjusting bolt reversely
rotating. The prototype of the hybrid actuator is shown in Fig. 6.
Each of the two actuators is used to obtain the advantages of
the corresponding actuator technology while avoiding the limita-
tions. The motor actuator is used for making the prosthetic nger
to approach and grasp objects, as this action requires considerable
strokes but lower speed. The SMA actuator is used for accelerating
the rate of force to avoid slipping when the grasped objects encoun-
ters unexpected disturbance. This action requires higher grasping
speed but relatively short strokes to compensate for deformation
in the TDUPF and objects.
3. SMA characteristics
The SMAs demonstrate the ability to return to some previously
dened shape or size when subjected to the appropriate ther-
mal procedure. The shape memory effect (SME) occurs because
of temperature- and stress-dependent shift in the materials crys-
talline structure between different phases called Martensite and
Austenite. Martensite, the low temperature phase, is relatively soft
whereas Austenite, the high temperature phase, is relatively hard.
The SMAs have been used in various actuation applications. The
key feature of this material is its ability to undergo seemingly large
strains in the Martensite phase and subsequently recover from
these strains (approximately 48%) when the material is heated
and the phase transforms into Austenite. The SMA actuators have
several advantages, such as excellent power-to-mass ratio, relia-
bility, as well as clean and silent actuation. However, given that

Spindle 1 Spindle 2
SMA 1

Pulley blocks Nut Tension

adjusting bolt 1

Fig. 5. Tension device for the SMA actuator. Fig. 6. Prototype of the hybrid actuator.
 F. Gao et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048 43

r p3 r p4
2
k3
r p2
C 2 lZ2 3
k 2 kw

C3
F2

l Z3
kw
1lZ1 kw
r p1 F1 F3 F3

C1
k1 ks
Fig. 7. Experimental setup for determining SMA characteristics.

F X
Fig. 9. The prosthetic nger grasping a cylindrical object.
the conversion of heat to mechanics is highly inefcient, the SMA
actuators indicate low energy efciency.
In the construction of the hybrid actuator prototypes, we have 4. Analytical modeling of the system
used off-the-shelf 0.3 mm diameter nickel-titanium SMA wires. To
investigate the characteristics of SMA wires, an experimental plat- 4.1. Prosthetic nger modeling
form is set up, as shown in Fig. 7. One end of the SMA wire (380 mm
long) that will be characterized is xed to the load cell (Interface The system consists of two parts, the prosthetic nger and the
Load cell, SML-10), whereas the other end is connected to the spring hybrid actuator, which are connected by a rope, as shown in Fig. 4.
(3.45 N/mm stiffness) serving as a load. The load cell is mounted on Firstly, the nger is regarded as a three-joint planar manipulator
slider 1. The spring is xed to slider 2. Sliders 1 and 2 are installed in whose dynamics is expressed as
the guide rail. The load cell detects the tensile force in the SMA wire.
+ H(, )
M() = TD TR JFL (1)
The acquired tension through the amplier (strain gage amplier
(SGA A/D)) and the data acquisition card (NI PXIe-6363) are trans-
where
mitted to the NI PXIe-1082. The NI PXIe-1082 processor is used to
process tension data and generate the actuating voltage signal for  rp2 rp4 T
the PWM driver which is for activating the SMA wire. TD = rp1 rp2 F (2)
rp3
Initially, slider 2 is moved in the direction that increases the
strain of the SMA wire. A tapeline is used to measure the strain.
2
k1 rp1 0 0
As soon as the strain arrives at 4.5% (to make the residual strain 0 2
close to 4%), the movement is stopped. Then, various voltages are TR = k2 rp2 0 ( 0 ) (3)
supplied to the SMA wire. When the tensile force arrives at the set 0 0 2
k3 rp4
value (23 N), the voltages are removed. As shown in Fig. 8, when the
applied voltage is relatively low as 4 V, the tensile force is the same.

The main reason is that with the applied voltage, the temperature of C1 C2 + lZ1 cos(2 ) C3 + lZ2 cos(3 ) + lZ1 cos(2 + 3 )
SMA wire cannot be generated at the Austenite initial temperature.
J= 0 C2 C3 + lZ2 cos(3 )
On the one hand, when the applied voltage is 8 V, the tensile force
increases to 23 N after approximately 3.25 s. On the other hand, 0 0 C3
when the applied voltage elevates to 28 V, the time for the tensile (4)
force reaching 23 N is decreased to 0.15 s.

FL = kw JT ( q ) (5)

25 where the boldface letters are used to express vectors, M() is the
joints inertia matrix, H(, ) is the vector of centrifugal and Coriolis
4 V torques. , 0 are the joints positions and the initial joints positions,
20
5.6 V respectively. F is the tensile force in the rope, rpi (1, 2, 3, 4) are the
8V radius of the pulleys, ki (1, 2, 3) are the stiffness of the springs. lZi (1,
Force (N)

15 11.2 V 2, 3) are the length of the phalanxes, Ci (1, 2, 3) are the distance
15.8 V between contact force and nger joints. J is a triangular matrix
22.6 V characterizing the contact locations, FL is the vector of the normal
10
25 V contact forces, kw is the stiffness of the grasped objects, as shown in
28 V Fig. 9.  q are the initial joints angles when the nger contacts with
5 the grasped object.
The displacement of the rope is expressed as
0  rp4 rp2  F
0 1 2 3 4 5 X= rp1 rp2 + (6)
Time (S) rp3 ks

Fig. 8. Square-wave response of SMA with each applied voltage. where ks is the stiffness of the rope.
44 F. Gao et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048

Fig. 10. The hybrid actuator operating in two modes.

4.2. Hybrid actuator modeling

where
4.2.1. Only motor actuator working
The proposed hybrid actuator in this paper comprises two work- l3 = l12 + l22 2l1 l2 cos(p6 ) (11)
ing modes. When the prosthetic nger approaches and grasps the
objects, only the motor actuator works, as shown in Fig. 10(a) l0
p6 = (12)
because this action requires large strokes but lower grasping speed. rp6
In the working mode, the dynamics of the hybrid actuator is equal
to the motor actuators dynamics, which is expressed as where Fs1 =  1 d2 /4, Fs2 =  2 d2 /4.  1 ,  2 are the stress in the SMAs
1 and 2, respectively. d is the radius of SMAs 1 and 2. rp5 and rp6 are
((Jd + Jw )Z 2 + Jg + Jp1 ) p1 = Bp1 + Kt i Frp1 (7) the radii of pulleys 5 and 6, respectively.  p6 is the rotation angle of
pulley 6. Js is the total rotational inertia of pulley 6, oscillating bar,
La i = Ke p1 Ra i + udc (8)
and pulley 5. l1 is the length of the oscillating bar. l2 is the distance
where Jd , Jw , Jg , Jp1 , are the DC motor, worm, gear, and pulley 1 between pulleys 5 and 6. l0 is the length of SMAs 1 and 2. is the
moment of inertia, respectively. Z is the worm gear transmission strain of SMAs 1 and 2. According to the SMA constitutive model
ratio, p1 is the rotation rate of pulley 1, and B is the damping [18],  1 and  2 are expressed as
coefcient. Kt , Ke , L, R, are the torque constant, back-EMF constant,
inductance, and electrical resistance of the DC motor, respectively.  1 = D1 1 + t T 1 + (D1 01 ) 1 (13)
udc and i are the driving voltage and current supplied to the DC
 2 = D2 2 + t T 2 + (D2 02 ) 2 (14)
motor.
The displacement of the rope contracted by the hybrid actuator where  t is the thermal expansion factor, T1 and T2 are the temper-
is expressed as atures of SMAs 1 and SMA 2, respectively; and 01 and 02 are the
initial strains of SMAs 1 and 2, respectively. D1 = DA +  1 (DM DA ),
X = p1 rp1 (9)
and D2 = DA +  2 (DM DA ).  1 and  2 are the fractions of the Marten-
where  p1 is the rotation angle of the pulley 1. site phase in SMAs 1 and 2, respectively. DA and DM are the Austenite
youngs and Martensite youngs modulus, respectively. Accord-
4.2.2. Motor actuator and SMA actuator working simultaneously ing to the SMA phase transformation model [18],  1 and  2 are
In grasping reex, the SMA actuator and the DC motor work expressed as
simultaneously because this action requires small strokes but high   
grasping speed. Initially, to accelerate the rate of grasping force, the

M1

1
(aA T 1 + bA  1 ),
2

sin aA T1 As
SMA 1 is actuated by passing through the current (Fig. 10(b)). To

CA


save energy, when sufcient grasping force is acquired, the SMA 1 is
1  1

if As < T1 < Af , T 1 >0
switched off (Fig. 10(c)). In the working mode, the dynamics of the
C A CA
hybrid actuator comprises that of the SMA and the motor actuator.   
 1 = 1 A1 1 (15)
The dynamics of the motor actuator has been expressed as Eqs. (7) sin aM T1 Mf (aM T 1 + bM  1 )

2 C
and (8). The dynamics of the SMA actuator is expressed as

M

  
if Mf < T1
1
< Ms , T 1
 1
l32 (rp1 rp5 )
2
l2 sin(p6 )

>0
(Fs1 Fs2 )rp6 2F l2 sin p6 + arcsin = Js 6

CM CM
l3 l3
(10) 0, otherwise
 F. Gao et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048 45

8 8

Force (N)

Force (N)
6 6

4 4

2 2
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
Time (S) Time (S)
20
Dc motor Dc motor
15 SMA 1 15 SMA 1

Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)

SMA 2 SMA 2
10 10

5 5

0 0
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0 0.2 0.4 0.6
Time (S) Time (S)

(a) Being driven by motor actuator (b) Being driven by hybrid actuator

Fig. 11. Comparison between being driven by motor actuator and by hybrid actuator.

  


M2
sin aA T2 As
2
(aA T 2 + bA  2 ),
where




2 CA
X1 = p1 rp1 (20)



2  2

if As < T2 < Af , T 2 >0 r r 

CA CA p1 p5
   X2 = 2 arcsin (rp5 rp1 )
 2 = 1 A2 2 (16) l1 l2

2
sin aM T2 Mf (aM T 2 + bM  2 ) r r 


CM
+ 2 arcsin
p1 p5
(rp1 rp5 )



2  2
l3

if Mf < T2 C < Ms , T 2 C > 0




M M
+2 l32 (rp1 rp5 )2 2
2
(l1 l2 ) (rp1 rp5 )2 (21)
0, otherwise
where X1 and X1 are the displacement contracted by the motor
where  M1 and  M2 are the maximum fractions of the Marten- actuator and the SMA actuator, respectively.
site phase during the cooling transition phase in SMAs 1 and 2, The performance of the system is computed based on the above
respectively.  A1 and  A2 are the minimum fractions of the Marten- model. In grasping reex, the simulation results of being driven
site phase during the heating transition phase in SMAs 1 and 2, by the motor actuator and by the hybrid actuator are compared
respectively. As and Af are the Austenite phase initial and nal tem- (Fig. 11). The parameters in Table 2 are used in these simulations.
peratures, respectively. Ms and Mf are the Martensite phase initial For the mode of DC motor working alone, the simulation was shown
and nal temperatures, respectively. aA = /(Af As ), bA = (aA /CA ), in the left plot of Fig. 11. It shows that, to increase the grasping force,
aM = /(Ms Mf ), bM = (aM /CM ), where CA and CM are both tting the voltage applied to the DC motor is improved from 1.8 V to 6 V,
parameters. and the rate of force is approximately 13.8 N/s. After 100 ms, the
According to the heat transfer equation [19], T1 and T2 are force increases from 2.75 N to 4.1 N. For the mode of simultaneous
expressed as action, the simulation was shown in the right plot of Fig. 11. It shows

u21
m1 cp T 1 = hc Ac1 (T1 Ta ) (17) Table 2
R1 Parameters of the system.

Parameter Value Parameter Value

u22
m2 cp T 2 = hc Ac2 (T2 Ta ) (18) l0 180 mm 02 0
R2
l1 20.7 mm m 8.2 105 kg
l2 4.5 mm Ac 1.7 104 m2
where m1 and m2 are the mass of the SMA 1 and the SMA 2, cp is the
rp5 3 mm Ta 20 C
specic heat, u1 and u2 are the applied voltage in the SMA 1 and the rp6 4.5 mm h0 48 W/m2 C
SMA 2, respectively. R1 and R2 are the electrical resistance of the Ms 32 C h2 104 W/m2 C
SMA 1 and the SMA 2. Ta is the ambient temperature, Ac1 and Ac2 are Mf 22 C ks 30 N/mm
the circumferential area of the SMA 1 and the SMA 2, respectively. As 42 C kw 10 N/mm
Af 52 C C1 40 mm
hc is the heat convection coefcient given by hc = h0 + h2 T2 .
t 6 Pa/ C C2 15 mm
The displacement of the rope contracted by the hybrid actuator DA 36 GPa C3 15 mm
is expressed as DM 10 GPa  q1 40
cp 840 J/kg C  q2 98
X = X1 + X2 (19) 01 0.04  q3 98
46 F. Gao et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048

Fig. 12. Experimental setup.

that the voltage applied to the DC motor is also improved from grasping reex for quickly generating a relatively large grasping
1.8 V to 6 V and the voltage applied to SMA 1 rises to 15.8 V. After force to drive the prosthetic nger and act on the grasped object.
approximately 60 ms, the SMA 1 is heated to the Austenite phase The SMA actuator will be switched off soon afterwards and the
initial temperature, and the rate of force is improved from 13.8 N/s DC motor continues working for maintaining the required grasp-
to 50 N/s. The force reaches 5.8 N after 100 ms. ing force. Therefore, the effect of the hysteresis behavior of SMA
It should be noted that the effect of the hysteresis behavior can be neglected in the grasping reex. However, the SMA needs
of SMA usually affects the grasping performance of prosthesis to cool down naturally before the next reex. Thus, for consecutive
hands. However, in our study, the SMA actuator is only used in reex, it is inevitable that the response time is slow. For the SMA

15 15
Grasping reflex Grasping reflex
Force (N)

Force (N)

10 10

5 5

0 0
0.5 0.5
Derivative of force (N/ms)
Derivative of force (N/ms)

-0.5 -0.5
Displacement (mm)

Displacement (mm)

10 10

5 5

0 0
30 30
Dc motor Dc motor
Voltage (V)
Voltage (V)

20 SMA 1 20 SMA 1
SMA 2 SMA 2
10 10

0 0
0 10 20 30 0 10 20 30
Time (S) Time (S)

(a) Being driven by motor actuator (b) Being driven by hybrid actuator

Fig. 13. Experimental results of grasping reex.

 F. Gao et al. / Sensors and Actuators A 223 (2015) 4048
10
SMA 1 working
8 The right second plot of Fig. 13 is the derivative of the right rst
Force (N)
6
4 Driven by motor actuator
Driven by hybrid actuator
2 ative change will be observed from the graph of the derivative of
10
Displacemnet (mm)
8 The right last plot of Fig. 13 shows that, after the grasping reex
Driven by motor actuator
6 is motivated, the working voltage of the DC motor remains about
4
Driven by hybrid actuator
2 inal magnitude in the right rst plot. This is because the DC motor
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3
Time (S)
Fig. 14. Zoomed views of squared areas with dashed line in Fig. 13.
wire used in our study, our experiments showed that it may take
twenty-ve seconds to cool down naturally and then the SMA actu-
ator can be motivated again for the next grasping reex. To increase
the response speed for the consecutive reex, a cooling device may
need to be considered in the hybrid actuator and this is our future
work.
5. Experiment
To test the feasibility of the proposed hybrid actuator, an
experimental platform is set up (Fig. 12), and the grasping reex
experiments are conducted. The prototype of the prosthetic nger
driven by the proposed hybrid actuator is constructed (Fig. 3), and is
installed on a stage. Moreover, force-sensitive resistors (FSRs with
the brand FSR-402 made by Interlink Electronics) are placed on the
nger to detect grasping force. A folded plate working as a thumb is
also installed on the stage opposite the nger. Initially, the nger is
driven only by the motor actuator to approach and grasp a compos-
ite paper cup (65 100 mm, 60 g). The 1.8 V is applied to the DC
motor. After a certain period, the system becomes steady. A 100 g
external disturbance drops from 3 mm high and strikes the can. As
the initial grasping force is insufcient for holding the can during
the disturbance, the can begins to slip. The slip is identied as neg-
ative changes in the derivative of the force signal with 0.3 N/ms
magnitude. As soon as slippage is detected in the current sampling
period, grasping reex is motivated in the next sampling period.
The sampling period of the system is 1 ms. In grasping reex, we
compared between being driven only by the motor actuator and
by the hybrid actuator. When being driven by the motor actuator,
the voltage applied to DC motor increases to 6 V; and by the hybrid
actuator, the voltage also increases to 6 V. The voltage applied to
the SMA 1 increases to 25.5 V. To save energy, the SMA actuator
is switched off after 100 ms. A laser displacement sensor (FT50
RLA-20-S-L4S) under the can is used to detect slip displacement.
Experimental results are shown in Fig. 13 with the left plot for
the mode of DC motor working alone and right plot for the mode of
simultaneous action of the hybrid actuator. Zoomed views of a part
of the force and slipping displacement are shown in Fig. 14. When
being driven by the DC motor alone, the grasping force increases
from 3.2 N to 4.25 N. The rate of force increase is 10.5 N/s, and
the slip displacement is 10 mm. When being driven by the hybrid
actuator, after approximately 50 ms, SMA 1 is heated to the Austen-
ite phase initial temperature. The rate of force is improved from
47
10.5 N/s to 41.5 N/s. The force reaches 6.7 N after 100 ms, and the
slip displacement is 5.7 mm.
plot showing the force signal. The force signal consists of interfer-
ence signal, grasping force and the force change caused by slipping.
During a small time period (e.g. 1 ms), the derivative of interfer-
ence signal is much larger than that of the grasping force and the
former remains around zero. Thus, the graph of the derivative of
force is hard to observe the change rate. However, a distinct neg-
the force if the slipping happens. Therefore, the graph can be used
to identify when the slipping occurs.
6 V and the voltage graph for the DC motor does not show the
change that the force is going smaller and then back to the orig-
compensates the force that is off due to the absence of the SMA,
0.4 which means that the DC motor continues working when the SMA
is switched off.
6. Conclusion
This study proposed a hybrid actuator combining SMA and
DC motor for prosthetic ngers. First, we proposed a mechanism
for the hybrid actuator. Second, the characteristics of SMA were
detected. Third, the performance of the prosthetic nger driven by
the hybrid actuator was computed on the basis of the system model.
Finally, we developed a prototype to test the feasibility of the
design idea, and grasping reex experiments were conducted. The
experimental results demonstrated that compared with the case
when being driven only by the motor actuator, the rate of grasping
force increased signicantly (approximately 4 times) when being
driven by the hybrid actuator. The slipping displacement decreased
sharply. Our future study will focus on the control of the hybrid
actuator and the use of cooling device to increase the response
speed for the consecutive reex.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the National Basic Research Pro-
gram 973 of China (Grant no. 2011CB013302).
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Biographies

Fei Gao received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from the School
of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Central South
University, Changsha, China, in 2011 and 2014 respec-
tively. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in
the Mechanical and Automation Engineering, The Chinese
University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. His current research
interests include prosthetics, system dynamics, control,
biomechanics and robotics.