Cooperative Continuum Robots: Enhancing Individual Continuum Arms by Reconfiguring Into a Parallel Manipulator

Russo, Matteo; Sriratanasak, Natthapol; Ba, Weiming; Dong, Xin; Mohammad, Abdelkhalick; Axinte, Dragoş

doi:10.1109/lra.2021.3139371

Cited by 28 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…A flexible beam can be modeled as a locomotor [ 22 ] or a manipulator for minimally invasive surgery [ 43 , 44 ] . Internal stress is induced via cable tension in the case of cable-driven continuum robots [ 45 ] , pneumatic actuation [ 46 ] , or magnetic actuation (magnetic continuum robots) [ 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 ].…”

Section: Bim: Bio-inspired Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the next step, the internal actuation was achieved using cables placed through the holes, allowing the flexible robot to bend, and resulting in a cable-driven continuum locomotor robot. This actuation mode is routinely used in continuum manipulators for surgery [ 44 ] and inspections [ 50 ]. However, to our knowledge, there is no cable-driven snake robot that exists.…”

Section: Bim: Bio-inspired Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Biomimetic Method to Replicate the Natural Fluid Movements of Swimming Snakes to Design Aquatic Robots

et al. 2022

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Replicating animal movements with robots provides powerful research tools because key parameters can be manipulated at will. Facing the lack of standard methods and the high complexity of biological systems, an incremental bioinspired approach is required. We followed this method to design a snake robot capable of reproducing the natural swimming gait of snakes, i.e., the lateral undulations of the whole body. Our goal was to shift away from the classical broken line design of poly-articulated snake robots to mimic the far more complex fluid movements of snakes. First, we examined the musculoskeletal systems of different snake species to extract key information, such as the flexibility or stiffness of the body. Second, we gathered the swimming kinematics of living snakes. Third, we developed a toolbox to implement the data that are relevant to technical solutions. We eventually built a prototype of an artificial body (not yet fitted with motors) that successfully reproduced the natural fluid lateral undulations of snakes when they swim. This basis is an essential step for designing realistic autonomous snake robots.

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Section: Bim: Bio-inspired Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Bim: Bio-inspired Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Biomimetic Method to Replicate the Natural Fluid Movements of Swimming Snakes to Design Aquatic Robots

et al. 2022

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“…[83] The main challenge of these robots is coordinating the motion of multiple limbs to obtain a controlled motion. [84][85][86] However, their compact (rather than slender) shape factor prevents their use in remote tasks through narrow passages.…”

Section: Parallel Continuum Robotsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continuum Robots: An Overview

Russo

Sadati

Dong

et al. 2023

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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When thinking of robots, the image that immediately springs to mind is either an android, designed to resemble human beings and mimic their behavior, or an industrial manipulator, for example, a large machine of rigid steel working in an assembly line. However, robotic systems of multiple forms have been developed to carry out the most diverse tasks, with designs that evolved from readily available structures, such as vehicles, or inspired by nature. In the last decade, more and more bioinspired designs have been enabled by advances in computer science, materials, and manufacturing. Among them, continuum robots, inspired by snakes, trunks, and tendrils, are characterized by a compliant backbone capable of continuous bending, whose shape (configuration, i.e., position and orientation along the backbone curve) is controlled by applying loads through onboard "intrinsic" actuators (e.g., pneumatics or hydraulics) or transmission elements (e.g., tendons, rods, or compliant tubes) that are pushed/pulled from an extremity of the backbone ("extrinsic actuation"). These robots have flexible bodies with a high length to cross-section diameter ratio and are uniquely suited to tasks that require the deployment of tools or sensors with a long reach into tortuous and narrow paths. [1] Continuum robots were first developed in the 1960s [2] and rose to prominence in the late 1990s, [3] when they were often called elephant trunk, [4] tentacle/tendril, [5] or flexible [6] manipulators. Whereas other robots were characterized by intrinsic actuation and larger sizes, research on continuum robots first focused on miniaturization for medical applications, [7,8] leading to extrinsic actuation to enable leaner designs. Recently, continuum robots have been developed for a wider range of applications, including manufacturing, aerospace, search and rescue, and nuclear. In such scenarios, the infinite degrees of freedom (DoFs) of these slender robots enable inspection and intervention in areas that cannot be accessed by conventional robots (e.g., tunnels [9] and gas turbines [10] ).An exhaustive literature search (see Appendix) outlines a surging interest in continuum robots, with a 19.6% average annual growth in publications between 2012 and 2021 (continuum robot search on Web of Science). Three main topics can be observed in recent literature surveys, listed in Table 1. DesignTendon-driven and concentric tube robots are predominant in surveys, but they are not the only design solutions. [18] This richer literature can be attributed to intense research effort toward medical and other small-scale applications when compared to larger-scale tasks (e.g., manipulation) where intrinsic actuation is advantageous.

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“…ONTINUUM robots are snake-like bioinspired designs that can bend in a continuous way. This means that they are highly flexible and can navigate in cluttered environments such as gas turbines [1], [2], nuclear facilities [3], [4], and the human body [5]. Multiple design solutions have been proposed since the 1960s, [6], [7], the majority of which belong to the following three categories: external actuation [8], [9], [10] intrinsic actuation [11], [12], and concentric tubes [13], [14], [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Novel Underactuated Continuum Robot With Shape Memory Alloy Clutches

Bishop

Russo

Dong

et al. 2022

IEEE/ASME Trans. Mechatron.

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The many degrees of freedom of continuum robots (CRs) enable unique applications in the search and rescue, medical and aerospace industries. However, the many motors required result in unwieldy external actuation packs and additional weight. Underactuation can achieve any pose with four motors by locking sections through clutching of cables. Existing underactuated solutions are characterized by lengthy joint locking times, add significant weight and are not scalable. In this work, a novel design and motion strategy is introduced, with shape memory alloy (SMA) wires to control clutches that lock cables for section locking. In addition to using conventional smooth cables, beaded cables are proposed for improved clutching strength. The workspace of the design is analyzed, and design tools are proposed to optimize bead pitch. Finally, the operation of the proposed underactuated CR is demonstrated on a prototype that achieves a mean repeatability of 1.41mm, equivalent to 0.43% of the backbone length. Section locking is achieved in 1 second and section unlocking is achieved in 5 seconds.

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Cooperative Continuum Robots: Enhancing Individual Continuum Arms by Reconfiguring Into a Parallel Manipulator

Cited by 28 publications

References 26 publications

A Biomimetic Method to Replicate the Natural Fluid Movements of Swimming Snakes to Design Aquatic Robots

A Biomimetic Method to Replicate the Natural Fluid Movements of Swimming Snakes to Design Aquatic Robots

Continuum Robots: An Overview

A Novel Underactuated Continuum Robot With Shape Memory Alloy Clutches

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