Compliant Robotic Structures. Part 3
Abstract
This is the third and final report of a three-year study on complaint robotic structures. Such structures are designed of continuously flexible elastomeric tubes that either extend as bellows, or bend transversely, or twist about the longitudinal axis when subjected to internal pressure. The motion of such a tube under controlled internal pressure depends on its directional stiffness, achieved through the orientation of both the wall corrugations and reinforcing fibers. Tube elements in series, or end-to-end, make up a robotic limb. A single limb may be employed as a manipulator arm. Several limbs acting in parallel may be used as a compliant gripping device that conforms to the object bing manipulated; and multiple limbs in parallel may be used as legs for walking machines. The present report, concentrates on the analysis, the design, and the experimental evaluation of the above mentioned elements. These studies, the conceptual designs with a knowledge of muscle structure in selected animals. A computer-aided control scheme is applied to a demonstration project: a manipulator arm made up of bending elements in series. This 50 cm arm successfully manages smooth, open-loop, pick-and-place manipulations with cycle times as small as 4.2 seconds and with placement reproducibility within 5% of the target point.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA192426
Entities
People
- James F. Wilson
Organizations
- Duke University