Position estimation technique for a flexible pneumatic linear actuator and its application to motion generation of an in-pipe robot

Abstract

This paper presents motion generation technique for a flexible pneumatic robot based on position estimation of linear actuators. The authors previously proposed an in-pipe robot which drives in narrow pipes with flexible pneumatic linear actuators. In previous paper, a static model to estimate the position of actuator’s sliding parts by applied pressure and flow rate was proposed and basics were discussed. In this paper, an effect of inflation diameter change was introduced into the model to increase estimation accuracy. The model was then integrated into a robot’s motion generation logic, and automated motion generation was tested in horizontal straight pipes.