Development of a continuum robot enhanced with distributed sensors for search and rescue
Development of a continuum robot enhanced with distributed sensors for search and rescue
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DOI：
10.1186/s40648-022-00223-x
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发表时间：
2022-03-21
期刊：
影响因子：
1.4
通讯作者：
Tadokoro, Satoshi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Yamauchi, Yu;Ambe, Yuichi;Tadokoro, Satoshi
Continuum机器人可以进入狭窄的空间，在灾难现场的搜索和救援任务中非常有用。如果机器人能够同时获取多条信息，那么灾难现场的勘探效率就会提高。然而，还没有设计出能够同时获得这种程度的信息的连续体机器人。这是因为在不影响机器人身体灵活性的情况下将多个传感器连接到机器人是一项挑战。在这项研究中，我们安装了多个小型传感器，以分布式的方式开发一个连续的机器人系统，具有多种信息收集功能。此外，与机器人的现场实验表明，收集的多种信息有可能提高搜索效率。具体来说，我们开发了一种具有传感功能的主动范围相机，该相机配备了总共80个分布式传感器，如惯性测量单元，麦克风，扬声器和振动传感器。在这里，我们考虑节省空间，减少噪音，并易于维护的机器人设计。开发的机器人可以与所有附加的传感器进行通信，即使它是弯曲的最小弯曲半径为250毫米。我们还开发了一个操作界面，集成了搜索支持技术使用通过传感器收集的信息。我们在福岛机器人试验场的模拟瓦砾环境中演示了幸存者搜索程序。我们确认通过操作界面提供的信息对搜索和寻找幸存者是有用的。文中还讨论了所设计系统的局限性。这种连续体机器人系统的开发具有多种应用的巨大潜力，将连续体机器人的应用扩展到灾害管理，并将使整个社会受益。
Continuum robots can enter narrow spaces and are useful for search and rescue missions in disaster sites. The exploration efficiency at disaster sites improves if the robots can simultaneously acquire several pieces of information. However, a continuum robot that can simultaneously acquire information to such an extent has not yet been designed. This is because attaching multiple sensors to the robot without compromising its body flexibility is challenging. In this study, we installed multiple small sensors in a distributed manner to develop a continuum-robot system with multiple information-gathering functions. In addition, a field experiment with the robot demonstrated that the gathered multiple information has a potential to improve the searching efficiency. Concretely, we developed an active scope camera with sensory functions, which was equipped with a total of 80 distributed sensors, such as inertial measurement units, microphones, speakers, and vibration sensors. Herein, we consider space-saving, noise reduction, and the ease of maintenance for designing the robot. The developed robot can communicate with all the attached sensors even if it is bent with a minimum bending radius of 250 mm. We also developed an operation interface that integrates search-support technologies using the information gathered via sensors. We demonstrated the survivor search procedure in a simulated rubble environment of the Fukushima Robot Test Field. We confirmed that the information provided through the operation interface is useful for searching and finding survivors. The limitations of the designed system are also discussed. The development of such a continuum robot system, with a great potential for several applications, extends the application of continuum robots to disaster management and will benefit the community at large.