Hybrid Vine Robot With Internal Steering-Reeling Mechanism Enhances System-Level Capabilities
Hybrid Vine Robot With Internal Steering-Reeling Mechanism Enhances System-Level Capabilities
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DOI：
10.1109/lra.2021.3072858
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发表时间：
2021-07
影响因子：
5.2
通讯作者：
David A. Haggerty;Nicholas D. Naclerio;E. Hawkes
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
David A. Haggerty;Nicholas D. Naclerio;E. Hawkes
连续体机器人具有高度的自由度和在受限环境中安全移动的能力。柔性连续体机器人的一类是“藤状”机器人。这种类型的机器人在身体内部压力的驱动下，通过外翻或展开新材料从尖端延伸。大多数藤状机器人的例子将新的身体材料储存在底部的卷轴中，通过机器人的核心到达顶端，并像许多连续体机器人一样，通过选择性地延长或缩短身体的一侧来控制方向。虽然这种转向和材料存储方法适合于全软设备，但它有三个关键限制：(I)通过机器人核心的材料的内耗限制了机器人在曲折路径中的长度，(Ii)机器人身体材料在底部重新缠绕时的身体屈曲可以防止缩回，(Iii)恒曲率转向限制了机器人在给定工作空间中的姿势和对象接近角度。本文介绍了一种软刚性混合机器人系统，包括一个软藤机器人本体和一个刚性的、可移动的内部转向机构(SRM)；这种SRM配备了一个用于储存材料的卷轴，一个用于转向的弯曲致动器，并能够在其长度的任何点上驱动机器人。这种混合配置沿着曲折的路径增加了伸展范围，允许缩回，并增加了工作空间。我们描述了该装置的动机，生成了它的数学模型，给出了它的操作方法，并通过实验验证了我们开发的模型和相对于以前的Vine机器人的性能改进。
Continuum robots have high degrees of freedom and the ability to safely move in constrained environments. One class of soft continuum robot is the “vine” robot. This type of robot extends from its tip by everting or unfurling new material, driven by internal body pressure. Most vine robot examples store new body material in a reel at their base, passing it through the core of the robot to the tip, and like many continuum robots, steer by selectively lengthening or shortening one side of the body. While this approach to steering and material storage lends itself to a fully soft device, it has three key limitations: (i) internal friction of material passing through the core of the robot limits its length in tortuous paths, (ii) body buckling as the robot's body material is re-spooled at the base can prevent retraction, and (iii) constant curvature steering limits the robot's poses and object approach angles in a given workspace. This letter presents a hybrid soft-rigid robotic system comprising a soft vine robot body and a rigid, mobile, internal steering-reeling mechanism (SRM); this SRM is equipped with a reel for material storage, a bending actuator for steering, and is capable of actuating the robot at any point along its length. This hybrid configuration increases reach along tortuous paths, allows retraction, and increases the workspace. We describe the motivation for the device, generate its mathematical models, present its methods of operation, and verify experimentally the models we developed and the performance improvements over previous vine robots.