Position control for hybrid infinite-continuous hyper-redundant robot

Abstract

This paper presents a new conception and analyzes a hyperredundant continuous robot (continuous style manipulator), drive system, and control strategy. The robot includes ten flexible segments and can be extended to several components as needed. The chosen hyper-redundant robot has a continuous infinite hybrid structure (HHRIC), based on hydraulic control with a rheological element. This system combines the advantage of a joint-level drive with a lightweight construction similar to the base-driven robots. It is suitable for tasks such as wiring in hard-toreach areas (caves, subaccounts, steep areas), transportation of fluids or food to areas affected by natural disasters (people buried under ruins), exploration in difficult areas (speleological research). Generally, the control algorithms for hyper-redundant robots are specific to the robots’ constructive particularities to which they have applied and the environment in which they operate. Experimental results validate the proposal robot design and control strategies in virtual reality. As a result, it is concluded that hyper-redundant robots and immersive technologies should play an essential role soon in automated and teleoperation applications.

Disturbance Observer-Based Tracking Controller for n-Link Flexible-Joint Robots Subject to Time-Varying State Constraints

“…As a significant branch of robots, manipulators have evolved from rigid structures to flexible ones to meet the growing demands. Therefore, the studies on flexible-joint (FJ) robot systems have attracted wide attention [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Ref.…”

“…Ref. [5] analyzed the drive system and control strategy for a hyper-redundant continuous robot. In [6], an adaptive torque observer based on fuzzy inference was proposed for a permanent magnet synchronous machine (PMSM), and was further applied to an FJ manipulator.…”