Manipulation of a Pneumatic Hyper-Redundant Actuator

Abstract

Pneumatically controlled and actuated planar snake-like device has been developed. Each joint is controlled by hardware-implemented algorithm inspired by snake's lateral undulatory locomotion. Therefore the device progresses forward whenever the lateral movement is constrained, such as a winding groove by which the tip element is guided. Without lateral constraint, the device behaves like a elephant trunk. This paper focuses on the behavior as an manipulator. Endoscopic manipulation through a complicated cavity is demonstrated by experiments.