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Modeling of continuum robots with environmental constraints

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Abstract

Leveraging the intrinsic compliance of continuum robots is a promising approach to enable symbiosis and harmoniousness in an unstructured environment. This compliance in interaction reduces the risk of damage for both the robot and its surroundings. However, the high degrees of freedom of continuum robots complicates the establishment of an analytical model that accurately describes the robot mechanical behavior, particularly in the case of large deformations during contact with obstacles. In this study, a novel modeling method is explored and the configuration space parameters of a robot are defined by considering the environmental constraints and variable curvature. A 10-section continuum robot prototype with a length of 1 m, was developed to validate the model. The robot’s ability to reach the target points, to follow complex paths and incidents of contacting with obstacles validate the feasibility and accuracy of the model. The ratio of the robot endpoint average position errors to its length are 2.045% and 2.446%, respectively, in conditions without and with obstacle. Thus, this work may serve as a reference for designing and analyzing continuum robots, providing a new perspective on the integration of robots with the environment.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (51975566, U1908214), National Key R&D Program of China (2018YFB1304600), and CAS Interdisciplinary Innovation Team (JCTD-2018-11).

Funding

The funding has been received from National Natural Science Foundation of China with Grant no. 51975566.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Robotics, Shenyang Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China

    Peng Chen, Yuwang Liu, Tingwen Yuan & Wenping Shi

  2. Institutes for Robotics and Intelligent Manufacturing, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China

    Peng Chen, Yuwang Liu, Tingwen Yuan & Wenping Shi

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Peng Chen

  4. School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Northeastern University, Shenyang, China

    Tingwen Yuan & Wenping Shi

Authors
  1. Peng Chen
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  2. Yuwang Liu
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Correspondence to Yuwang Liu.

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Chen, P., Liu, Y., Yuan, T. et al. Modeling of continuum robots with environmental constraints. Engineering with Computers 40, 1217–1230 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00366-023-01866-z

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