Curvature by Design: A Support Structure for Continuum Robots
Curvature by Design: A Support Structure for Continuum Robots
This research introduces a multi-segment scissor-based support structure designed to mechanically constrain continuum robots to exhibit prescribed constant or spatially varying curvature profiles. By utilizing compliant flexure joints and Taylor approximations, the design enables an overconstrained multi-joint linkage to distribute global bending among small-angle movements of multiple flexures. Integrated with a tendon-actuated continuum robot featuring a flexible backbone, experiments demonstrate that this structure significantly enhances shape precision by resisting deformations other than the prescribed curvature, such as S-shapes formed under external loads applied in the opposite direction of bending. The approach reduces the number of independent shape variables that must be estimated during operation.
The paper proposes a multi-segment scissor-based support structure that mechanically constrains a tendon-actuated continuum robot to exhibit prescribed constant or spatially varying curvature profiles, reducing independent shape variables and resisting non-prescribed deformations like S-shapes under opposing loads.
Source: arXiv Robotics — research abstracts · Read original article ↗
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Source：arXiv Robotics — research abstracts · arxiv.org