Dynamic simulation for the design of an adjustable linkage mechanism for a chewing robot

Abstract

Chewing robots are widely used in the experimental process of the research on human masticatory and food. In this paper, the design of an adjustable linkage mechanism is presented based on an existing food masticatory robot. The mechanism aims at producing a variety of flexible chewing trajectories to masticate food pieces down to a scale resembling human's performance. To this end, the mechanical advantage of the mechanism is investigated to validate its static ability on external force. Furthermore, the mechanism is modeled in Simscape to come up with the technical requirements for appropriate actuators. The dynamic performance of actuators, i.e., position response and motor torque, is then investigated to validate the appropriateness of the design for future implementation.