Model analysis for a continuum aircraft fuel tank inspection robot based on the Rzeppa universal joint

Abstract

A continuum robot was designed to assist aircraft crew in inspecting fuel tanks, thereby decreasing the workload of fuel tank inspection and improving the efficiency of maintenance. The Rzeppa universal joint and cylindrical helical spring were taken as the joint section of the main body, and the load capacity of continuum robot had been improved greatly. Based on the isokinetic feature of the Rzeppa universal joint, the single-section kinematic analysis of the continuum robot was conducted according to the unit load method of cylindrical helical spring. Next, the influence of variable curvature bending properties of the plant was reduced, and the mapping relationship among the end position, joint variables, and the length of driving cables was obtained. Finally, the simulation and prototype experiments were performed, and the results proved the strong loading capacity of the continuum robot and the effectiveness of the kinematic model.

Continuum Robots for Manipulation Applications: A Survey

“…eir structure is pneumatically actuated [181], which controls the longitudinal height and is made up of a polyamide structure that is widely used in deploying antennas [177][178][179] or in operations that require a periscope [175,180]. To enhance the application areas of vine robots, researchers found advantages of using these structures [171][172][173][174] in further applications, including autonomous refueling, exploration [174], water spraying [171], aircraft fueling [173], body inspection [170,176], and engine repair [172], as shown in Figure 6(b). e final categorization of the continuum robots is the structure inspired by the tail and chameleon tongue of an animal.…”

Recent Advances in Design and Actuation of Continuum Robots for Medical Applications

“…The disadvantages of continuums robot are as follows: (1) It is difficult to control multi-degree-of-freedom bending; (2) Most CR's control accuracy is not high; (3) Due to the limitation of robot structure, its load capacity is not high. Srikanth et al [22] divided the continuum models into the following categories: Single segment [23][24][25], Multisegment [26][27][28], Single segment-multidisc [29][30][31], Multi segment-multidisc [32][33][34] and Continuous structure [35][36][37]. Among them, the body of single segment continuum robots consists of a single backbone-like structure with limited constant curvature freedom of motion.…”

Modular climbing robot design with automated vision-based defect classification

“…Inspection robot applications over the past decade are seen in technical inspection and maintenance such as failure or breakdown diagnosis [4], pipeline and turbine inspection [3], [5], [6] surface flaw detection of tanks and offshore platforms [7], power plants [8], Non-destructive testing [9] and in the aviation industry for inspection [10]. Furthermore, robots have also been applied in the inspection of civil structures [11], military and cleaning operations [12] Inspection of welds [13], marine environment for hull porosity and cracks [14], container inspection [15], aircraft structural inspection [16] [10].…”