Flexible manipulator arm
A flexible manipulator arm is a slim, hyper-redundant manipulator . Because of its high number of degrees of freedom , the arm can snake along a path or around an obstacle (cf. the term snake arm ).
definition
Flexible manipulator arms are also known as continuous robots or elephant trunks . However, these definitions are restrictive and cannot be applied to all flexible manipulator arms.
- A continuous robot is a curved manipulator, similar to the arm of an octopus .
- An elephant trunk robot is a good example of a continuous robot. Here the entire arm is used to grasp or manipulate objects.
Applications
The ability to reach even limited spaces leads to many applications that involve spatial access problems. The following list is only intended to show some areas of application.
Industry:
-
Nuclear energy
- Shutdown
- Repair and maintenance
-
Aviation and Aerospace
- Manufacture and assembly inside wings, turbines and nozzles
- Surface treatment: handling of sandblasters
- Maintenance, repair and overhaul
-
Automotive
- Manufacturing: alternatives in the assembly of structures
Security and Defense:
- Ordnance disposal
- Search and rescue
Web links
Flexible manipulator arms have already been studied by several universities:
- Cornell University : Student project to design and manufacture a class of robotic arms that match the strength, precision and dexterity of a snake
- Carnegie Mellon : Research into hyper-redundant robots including flexible manipulator arms
- Clemson : Research into elephant trunk robots
- Mississippi State University : Research into the design, analysis, and manufacture of continuous robots
Flexible manipulator arms are used commercially in the following areas:
- OC Robotics : Manufacture for aviation (automated assembly of aircraft), security (robotics to counter terrorism), nuclear energy (decommissioning and asset management) and by other industries (investigation and maintenance).
Individual evidence
- ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Animal model - researchers build robotic arm based on a trunk template (video) )
- ↑ Earthworms help prevent cancer