Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons

Kang, Rongjie; Guo, Yong; Chen, Lisha; Branson, David T.; Dai, Jian S.

Abstract

© 1996-2012 IEEE. Continuum robots have attracted increasing focus in recent years due to their intrinsic compliance that allows for dexterous and safe movements. However, the inherent compliance in such systems reduces the structural stiffness, and therefore leads to the issue of reduced positioning accuracy. This paper presents the design of a continuum robot employing tendon embedded pneumatic muscles. The pneumatic muscles are used to achieve large-scale movements for preliminary positioning, while the tendons are used for fine adjustment of position. Such hybrid actuation offers the potential to improve the accuracy of the robotic system, while maintaining large displacement capabilities. A three-dimensional dynamic model of the robot is presented using a mass-damper-spring-based network, in which elastic deformation, actuating forces, and external forces are taken into account. The design and dynamic model of the robot are then validated experimentally with the help of an electromagnetic tracking system.

Citation

Kang, R., Guo, Y., Chen, L., Branson, D. T., & Dai, J. S. (2017). Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 22(2), 751-761. https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2016.2636199

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 6, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Dec 6, 2016
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 2, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 2, 2017
• Journal: IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics
• Print ISSN: 1083-4435
• Electronic ISSN: 1941-014X
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 751-761
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TMECH.2016.2636199
• Keywords: Hybrid actuation, Continuum robots, Pneumatic muscles, Embedded tendons
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/836376
• Publisher URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7775004
• Additional Information: (c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, 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 components of this work in other works.
• Contract Date: Feb 2, 2017