Abstract—Recently, significant concerns have arisen regarding the application of biologically inspired robots in rehabilitation for individuals with movement disabilities. These types of robots must ensure a high level of safety, which is typically achieved through more flexible construction. Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs), driven by compressed air, exhibit performance similar to biological muscles. Consequently, PAMs are considered strong candidates for actuators in rehabilitation robots. This paper investigates a control algorithm for a multi-fingered robot actuated by PAMs for grasping and manipulating circular objects. A dynamic model of the general robot–object system was formulated using the Lagrange method, combined with the natural force–length–velocity relationship of contracting muscles. Based on this model, control algorithms were proposed to achieve stable grasping and dexterous manipulation of the object by the multi-fingered robot. The asymptotic convergence of the closed-loop system was analyzed using Lyapunov’s principle and the extended LaSalle invariance theorem. Simulation results further validated the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithms.

Keywords—multi-fingered robot, Pneumatic Artificial Muscle (PAM), stable grasp, dexterous manipulation, circular object

Cite: Son Hoang, Pham Thuc Anh Nguyen, and Cong Chi Tran, "Dynamic Modeling and Control of Pneumatic Artificial Muscles-Driven Multi-Fingered Robots for Circular Object Manipulation," International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 1-11, 2026. doi: 10.18178/ijmerr.15.1.1-11

Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).