Design of a Hybrid-Driven Continuum Robot

被引:0
|
作者
Kang R. [1 ]
Sun C. [1 ]
机构
[1] Key Laboratory of Mechanism Theory and Equipment Design of Ministry of Education, Tianjin University, Tianjin
来源
Tianjin Daxue Xuebao (Ziran Kexue yu Gongcheng Jishu Ban)/Journal of Tianjin University Science and Technology | 2019年 / 52卷 / 04期
基金
中国国家自然科学基金;
关键词
Continuum robot; Elastic rod; Hybrid-driven; Pneumatic muscle; Variable stiffness;
D O I
10.11784/tdxbz201808060
中图分类号
学科分类号
摘要
The intrinsic compliant body structure of continuum robots endows them with great environmental adaptability and safety, and thus, such robots have attracted increasing attention in recent years. However, the compliant structure may also lead to the lack of loading capacity and positioning accuracy. Considering this situation, a novel hybrid-driven continuum robot is proposed to balance the requirements for flexibility, precision, and stiffness. The actuator of the robot incorporates a pneumatic muscle and an embedded elastic rod to maintain system compactness. By employing the mode switching mechanism, the actuator can switch the drive mode between pneumatic mode and elastic rod mode to achieve large-scale movement and precise positioning, during which the robot possesses variable stiffness. When performing large-scale movements, the pneumatic muscles provide most of displacement and force. Once the robot approaches the desired operational position, it will be driven by the linear motor through the elastic rod to achieve precise positioning, and the stiffness of the robot is also improved. Based on the principle of force balance, the pressure-length model of the hybrid actuator is established. By comparing the simulated and experimental results, the dead zone of the actuator is found, and the model is then modified. The hysteresis of robot is also verified. The variable stiffness of the robot is validated by an experiment of applying external force to the robot tip under different configurations and drive modes. By recording the position of the robot tip, it is found that the positioning repeatability of the hybrid-driven system is significantly increased in comparison to the pure pneumatic driving mode. The results show that this design provides an effective way to enhance the positioning accuracy of the compliant continuum robot by using hybrid actuation with variable stiffness. © 2019, Editorial Board of Journal of Tianjin University(Science and Technology). All right reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:361 / 367
页数:6
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