Pneumatic artificial muscles Pneumatic artificial muscles Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are contractile or extensional devices operated by pressurized air filling a pneumatic bladder. In an approximation of human muscles, PAMs are usually grouped in pairs: one agonist and one antagonist. PAMs were first developed (under the name of "McKibben Artificial Muscles") in the 1950s for use in artificial limbs. The Bridgestone rubber company (Japan) commercialized the idea in the 1980s under the name of Rubbertuators. The retraction strength of the PAM is limited by the sum total strength of individual fibers in the woven shell. The exertion distance is limited by the tightness
Effect of spaceflight on the human body problems could be a major concern for future deep space flight missions, including a manned mission to the planet Mars. If indeed elevated intracranial pressure is the cause, artificial gravity might present one solution, as it would for many human health risks in space. However, such artificial gravitational systems have yet to be proven. More, even with sophisticated artificial gravity, a state of relative microgravity may remain, the risks of which remain unknown. One effect of weightlessness on humans is that some astronauts report a change in their sense of taste when in space. Some astronauts find that their food