自在な巻き付き動作によって物体を把持する腱駆動連続体ロボットの開発

抄録

In this study, we develop a tendon-driven continuum robotic manipulator using ball joints. The discs forming the backbone are connected by ball joints, together with coil springs coupled with tendon threads. The manipulator is operated by shrinking the tendons using three servomotors, and autonomously returns to the original straight shape with the effect of the coil springs by releasing the force. The robot is constructed by using 3D-printed parts. Through three grasping experiments, we confirmed that the robot could grasp objects with different diameters ranging from 30 to 64 mm and different masses ranging from 25 to 200 g. In addition, bending motions in specific directions and arc-following motions were also tested, and the robot properly moved to all the directions.