A robotic human jaw, under collaborative development by Massey engineers, will have applications for both medical and food technological research.
A team led by Dr John Bronlund and Associate Professor Peter Xu in the Institute of Engineering and Technology has been subcontracted by the University of Auckland to design and make a robotic jaw as part of a larger project in its Bioengineering Institute.
Associate Professor Andrew Pullan at the Auckland Institute is mathematically modelling the muscles of the human face to reproduce jaw movement through muscle contraction, but requires information about the mechanics of the jaw muscles, the forces used in chewing and biting.
The Massey team is now engaged in the construction of the robotic jaw, which will provide comprehensive data of the forces and movements applied in the chewing of food. during chewing of food. Post-graduate students have also been given the opportunity to work on the jaw, which is the first of its type in the world.
Masters student Jozsef-Sebastian Pap has designed the robot and the six actuators which drive the bottom jaw (the top half of the human jaw remains fixed). PhD student Jonathon Torrence is working on the control of the robot.The team estimates the first prototype robotic jaw is six months from completion.
Dr Xu says the project is an excellent example of multidisciplinary research – combining a very innovative type of mechatronics, food technology, and biomechanics. The project is also collaborative, originating from a visit to the University D'Auvergne Clermont in France in 1999. There, Dr Bronlund became interested in a project measuring the chewing behaviour of humans and has since been working with Dr Xu to replicate this in robots.