Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: cantaloupe.srv.cs.cmu.edu!rochester!udel!news.mathworks.com!uhog.mit.edu!uw-beaver!fluke!ferguson
From: ferguson@tc.fluke.COM (Ed Ferguson)
Subject: Actuators - how do they work?
Message-ID: <D5r4I9.Jxt@tc.fluke.COM>
Organization: Fluke Corporation, Everett, WA
Distribution: usa
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 1995 18:25:12 GMT
Lines: 13

I only have a passing interest in robotics, but a visit
this weekend to Seattle's Pacific Science Center prompts
me to ask how actuators in robots and puppets work.
They have a robot that appears to be inspired by "Short
Circuit".  The actuators are about 3 to 4 inches long,
look like miniature hydraulic cylinders, and have two
small hoses (wires?), one at each end of the cylinder.

Are these hydraulic?  Electric?  Air driven?  Where can
these actuators be purchased?  How do they interface to a PC?
Where can I get more info?

Ed Ferguson
