抄録
In this study, a single joint robot finger system to palpate the prostate is developed. For the palpation, the robot finger is bended by pulling the driving wires. And estimation of the robot fingertip position from the length of the driving wires and estimation of the contact force between fingertip and measuring objects are necessary. First, the theoretical model of the robot finger geometrically was constructed, and the relationship between the bending shape and the coordinates of the fingertip was derived. Also, a method to estimate the contact force between the fingertip and the object using the principle of virtual work from the tension of the driving wires was derived. Next, the robot fingertip position accuracy was confirmed by conducting position measurement experiment. Finally, a palpation experiment was conducted on the gel samples, and the utility of this system was confirmed by estimating the contact force.
