Inverse and Direct Model of a Continuum Manipulator Inspired by the Octopus Arm

Abstract

The extraordinary manipulation capabilities of the octopus arm generate a big interest in the robotics community. Many researchers have put a big effort in the design, modelling and control of continuum manipulators inspired by the octopus arm. New mathematical tools could be introduced in the robotics community and new sources of inspiration are needed in order to simplify the use of the continuum manipulator. A geometrical exact approach for direct model and a Jacobian method for the inverse model are implemented for a continuum manipulator driven by cables. The first experimental results show an average tip error of less than 6% of the manipulator length, and a good numerical performance to solve the inverse kinetics model.

This work was supported in part by the European Commission in the ICT-FET OCTOPUS Integrating Project, under contract no. 231608.