Universal-jointed Tendon-driven Continuum Robot: Design, Kinematic Modeling, and Locomotion in Narrow Tubes

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Shentu, Chengnan, Burgner-Kahrs, Jessica
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2024
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author Shentu, Chengnan
Burgner-Kahrs, Jessica
author_facet Shentu, Chengnan
Burgner-Kahrs, Jessica
contents Tendon-driven Continuum Robots (TDCRs) are promising candidates for applications in confined spaces due to their unique shape, compliance, and miniaturization capability. Non-parallel tendon routing for TDCRs have shown definite advantages including segments with higher degrees of freedom, larger workspace and higher dexterity. However, most works have focused on parallel tendons to achieve constant-curvature shapes, which yields analytically simple kinematics but overly restricts the design possibilities. We believe this under-utilization of general tendon routing can be attributed to the lack of a general kinematic model that estimates shape from only tendon geometry and displacements. Cosserat rod-based models are capable of modeling general tendon routing, but they require accurate tendon tension measurements and extensive system identification, hindering their usability for design purposes. Recent attempts in developing a kinematic model are limited to simple scenarios like actuation with a single tendon or tendons on perpendicular planes. Moreover, model formulations are often disconnected from hardware, making designs challenging to build under manufacturing constraints. Our first contribution is a novel design for TDCRs based on a synovial universal joint module, which provides a mechanically discretized and feasible design space. Based on the design, our second contribution is the formulation and evaluation of an optimization-based kinematic model, capable of handling actuation of multiple general routed tendons. Lastly, we present an example application of a TDCR designed for gaited locomotion, demonstrating our method's potential for an unified model-based design pipeline.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_13165
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Universal-jointed Tendon-driven Continuum Robot: Design, Kinematic Modeling, and Locomotion in Narrow Tubes
Shentu, Chengnan
Burgner-Kahrs, Jessica
Robotics
Tendon-driven Continuum Robots (TDCRs) are promising candidates for applications in confined spaces due to their unique shape, compliance, and miniaturization capability. Non-parallel tendon routing for TDCRs have shown definite advantages including segments with higher degrees of freedom, larger workspace and higher dexterity. However, most works have focused on parallel tendons to achieve constant-curvature shapes, which yields analytically simple kinematics but overly restricts the design possibilities. We believe this under-utilization of general tendon routing can be attributed to the lack of a general kinematic model that estimates shape from only tendon geometry and displacements. Cosserat rod-based models are capable of modeling general tendon routing, but they require accurate tendon tension measurements and extensive system identification, hindering their usability for design purposes. Recent attempts in developing a kinematic model are limited to simple scenarios like actuation with a single tendon or tendons on perpendicular planes. Moreover, model formulations are often disconnected from hardware, making designs challenging to build under manufacturing constraints. Our first contribution is a novel design for TDCRs based on a synovial universal joint module, which provides a mechanically discretized and feasible design space. Based on the design, our second contribution is the formulation and evaluation of an optimization-based kinematic model, capable of handling actuation of multiple general routed tendons. Lastly, we present an example application of a TDCR designed for gaited locomotion, demonstrating our method's potential for an unified model-based design pipeline.
title Universal-jointed Tendon-driven Continuum Robot: Design, Kinematic Modeling, and Locomotion in Narrow Tubes
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.13165