Collaborative Continuum Robots for Remote Engineering Operations

Abstract

In situ repair and maintenance of high-value industrial equipment is critical if they are to maintain the ability to continue vital operations. Conventional single-arm continuum robots have been proven numerous times to be successful tools for use in repair operations. However, often more than one arm is needed to ensure successful operation within several scenarios; thus, the collaborative operation of multiple arms is required. Here, we present the design and operating principles of a dual-arm continuum robot system designed to perform critical tasks within industrial settings. Here, presented are the design principle of the robotic system, the optimization-based inverse kinematic calculation of the 6-DoF continuum arms, and the collaborative operation strategy. The collaborative principle and algorithms used have been evaluated by a set of experiments to demonstrate the ability of the system to perform in situ machining operations. With the developed prototype and controller, the average error between planned and real toolpaths can be within 2.5 mm.

Improving the kinematic accuracy of a collaborative continuum robot by using flexure-hinges

“…The results show that the kinematic performance of the continuum robot has been greatly improved. With the developed concept, a serial of trails of introducing the compliant mechanisms can be attempted in a wide range of slender continuum robots (e.g., small diameter: surgical [ 25 , 39 ] and inspection [ 18 , 37 ]; medium diameter: nuclear decommissioning [ 32 , 33 ]; large dimension: space station assembling [ 40 ] and electric car charging [ 41 ]) for improving the mechanical performance and miniaturing the dimension. Taking the surgical continuum robot as an example, the backbone structure with cable driving actuation strategy is normally used to change the shape of the robot.…”

“…For the large dimension (e.g., space station assembling [ 40 ] and electric car charging [ 41 ]) continuum robots, the design and material selection of the compliant mechanisms is easy as the space is sufficient. However, for the medium (e.g., nuclear decommissioning [ 32 , 33 ]) and miniature dimensions (e.g., surgical [ 25 , 39 ] and inspection [ 18 , 37 ]) continuum robots, it will becoming more difficult. Taking the surgical continuum robot as the example, the dimension of the robot is normally within 10 mm with limited shaping stroke (45° of each section), resulting to the small space for the flexible hinges.…”

“…This system exhibits improved kinematic accuracy and stiffness and is optimised for use within unstructured industrial environments, with a focus on underwater confined spaces. Following on from the previous research in building the stiffness model [ 32 ] and developing a collaborative controller [ 33 ], this paper focusses on the study of the benefits of adding the flexure hinges to the platform.…”

Comprehensive stiffness regulation on multi-section snake robot with considering the parasite motion and friction effects

“…sensors and cutting tools) into the structure [8]. Several varieties of snake robot have been developed for coping with this sort of scenario [9,10]. For example, a medium-dimension dual-arm continuum robot was developed for copying the material retrieval tasks from the underwater environment, in which multiple flexible hinges were introduced for regulating the stiffness of the system.…”