Simulating respiration with Arduino?

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi,

I'm currently doing a robotics workshop, and we are making a robot that simulates respiration. For prototyping I need suggestions to how I can do this by using the Arduino - I don't really know if I can get a pump of some sort that couldt blow air in - and out - of a bag for instance?
Have any of you done anything simular - or have any suggestions to what components I could use?

Thanks, S

2

What aspects of respiration are you trying to simulate?

3

If you are just trying to simulate the rising and falling of the chest, then an arrangement with a servo could with some careful programming be made to look fairly realistic.

If you want breath to enter and exit through the mouth / nose, then you could synchronise the chest movement with pwm control of a fan motor to provide breath.

4

If you want accuracy on the volume of air moved, you could do the same way the artificial simulator lung does it.

A piston with a motor control that moves it to various positions.

You could connect a balloon to the one end of the piston, so that when it draws air in, the balloon inflates. The other end of the piston would be open to the nose/mouth.

5

It is mostly the movement of the chest we are trying to simulate. The project is for prototyping a robot that will be used to calm down stessed out mentally ill patient in the transistion from hospitalization to home. Therefore we need the robot to simulate the feel of another being's respiration. No air is needed enter/exit the function.

Thanks for your answers so far, I will definitely try out your recommendations.
Keep ideas comming if you have any - us newbies need all the help we can get:)

6

I would think a bladder enclosed in a semi-articuled shell would be a good place to start. Add an air piston connected to the bladder on one side, free to ATM on the other. The piston controlled by a linear actuator. The code would only have to modulate the movement of the actuator.

I'm sure there are other methods. This was the first idea that popped into my head.

Please post updates! Sounds interesting.

7

It might be helpful to make it more lifelike by simulating actual breathing patterns. Inspiration is a bit different than expiration. A calm respiratory rate should be about 10-12 breaths / minute. Add some slight variability in rate and amplitude for a more life-like feel.