An efficient follow-the-leader strategy for continuum robot navigation and coiling

Mohammad, Abdelkhalick; Russo, Matteo; Fang, Yihua; Dong, Xin; Axinte, Dragos; Kell, James

Abstract

Efficient path planning for hyper-redundant continuum and snake-like robots is a challenging task due to limited sensing capabilities, high computational loads, multiple possible solutions, and non-linear models. This paper presents a new approach to snake robot navigation and coiling, with an algorithm that enables online step-by-step position adjustment with a follow-the-leader strategy, significantly improving the performance of the robot when compared to previous methods. The proposed algorithm is demonstrated on a 16-degree-of-freedom snake-like robot for inspection and maintenance tasks in nuclear facilities.

Citation

Mohammad, A., Russo, M., Fang, Y., Dong, X., Axinte, D., & Kell, J. (2021). An efficient follow-the-leader strategy for continuum robot navigation and coiling. IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, 6(4), 7493 - 7500. https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2021.3097265

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 18, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Jul 14, 2021
• Publication Date: Oct 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Aug 5, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 9, 2021
• Journal: IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 2377-3766
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 7493 - 7500
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/LRA.2021.3097265
• Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Control and Optimization; Computer Science Applications; Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition; Mechanical Engineering; Human-Computer Interaction; Biomedical Engineering; Control and Systems Engineering
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5899795
• Publisher URL: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9484758
• Additional Information: © 2021 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.