Shape detection system and method of flexible tentacles

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of shape detection, in particular to a shape detection system and method of flexible tentacles. The shape detection system and method aim to be able to detect the real-time shapes of the one or more sections of flexible tentacles. The detection system comprises an industrial control upper computer, nine guyed displacement sensors, three controllers, a wireless Bluetooth communication module, a direct-current voltage-stabilized source, two buck chips and the controllers; the flexible tentacles are inflated; pulse signals are decoded and counted through the master and slave controllers STM32; length data of nine pneumatic muscles are wirelessly transmitted to the industrial control upper computer through the wireless Bluetooth module; and GUIDE inMATLAB software is used in the industrial control upper computer to make a serial assistant interface, a kinematics model of one section of flexible tentacle and kinematics models of the multiple sections of flexible tentacles are established, and the three-dimensional spatial shapes of the flexible tentacles are simulated. The requirements for detecting the three-dimensional shapes of the flexible tentacles in real time can be met.

Description

technical field [0001] The patent of the present invention relates to the technical field of shape detection, in particular to a shape detection system and method based on flexible tentacles. Background technique [0002] With the rapid development of automation technology, flexible tentacles have penetrated into every aspect of people's daily life. Traditional rigid flexible tentacles have been widely used in manufacturing, and can efficiently perform a single task through specific programming. However, due to the structural nature of their rigid joints, maneuvering in cramped, unstructured environments can be difficult. Therefore, the traditional rigid flexible tentacles can no longer meet the growing needs of human beings. [0003] In order to solve the structural drawbacks of rigid flexible tentacles, the researchers found the answer in nature. Similar to octopuses and elephant trunks, there is a "muscular hydrostatic skeleton" soft tissue, which perfectly compensates...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0007] The first is to choose a centralized sensor such as an end camera, which can only feed back local visual information, and cannot detect the three-dimensional shape of the entire flexible tentacle by obtaining local feedback information.

In addition, visual inspection has high requirements for the environment, and it cannot be used in narrow and dark environments. Moreover, this method needs to collect and process image data, and there are a lot of numerical calculations, which is also unrealistic for real-time control.

[0008] The second is to choose an internal sensor such as a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor. The internal sensor cannot detect the surrounding environment sensitively in real time, resulting in the flexible tentacles being unable to adapt to the dynamic changes in the surrounding environment, which greatly affects the modeling of the flexible tentacles. Precision and control strategies greatly reduce the level of automation and intelligence of the flexible tentacles

In addition, due to the fragility of the optical fiber, the propagation loss of the FBG sensor occurs when the flexible tentacle is bent

Therefore, strain measurements are not valid when the curvature rises above the critical curvature

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