車椅子搭載型ダチョウ首規範超劣駆動マニピュレータ

―プロトタイプ第1号機―

抄録

Wheelchair-mounted robotic arms have been developed to assist wheelchair users in their daily lives. However, it is desirable to introduce flexibility into the robotic arm to achieve more interactive tasks. To establish a design method for a flexible robotic arm, we have developed a robotic arm based on the anatomy of an ostrich’s flexible neck that can move swiftly and dexterously. In this paper, we introduce the first prototype of ostrich-inspired hyper-underactuated robot manipulator for mounting on a wheelchair. The proposed prototype was flexible yet capable of movement against gravity. This paper is the first step toward the application of a soft robotic arm with high dexterity like an ostrich’s neck to assist wheelchair users in their daily lives.