A snake-arm robot with variable stiffness based on inner and outer core particle blocking

Abstract

The invention discloses a serpentine arm robot based on particle blockage and variable stiffness of the inner and outer cores, which includes a pneumatic drive device, a pull rope drive device, and a serpentine arm body; The outer core; the pneumatic driving device can change the vacuum of the inner cavity of the inner core and the inner cavity of the outer core respectively; the radial outer side of the inner core is embedded with a silk thread, and the pull rope driving device realizes the corresponding movement of the serpentine arm by pulling a single silk thread Direction of turn. The invention utilizes particle blocking technology to control the rigidity of the particle gaps of the inner and outer cores respectively, and realizes the steering of the robot by controlling the silk thread and the extension by changing the independent stiffness of the inner core and the outer core. After reaching the target, the inner and outer cores are evacuated to vacuum or negative pressure at the same time, and the robot can obtain greater rigidity. The robot of the invention has a fast response rate of variable stiffness, fewer driving sources, a wide range of stiffness changes, and can flexibly work in complex and narrow environments.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the field of robots, in particular to a variable stiffness snake-arm robot. Background technique [0002] With the continuous development of science and technology, robots have been widely used in various fields. Due to its advantages of good stability, high flexibility and strong environmental adaptability, snake-shaped arm robots can be used in aircraft maintenance, In the field of nuclear environment detection and narrow space, it has attracted people's attention. [0003] However, in an environment with a relatively small space, it is difficult for a large snake-shaped arm to enter smoothly. However, if the size of the serpentine arm is too small, the rigidity of the robot will be insufficient, making it difficult to ensure the working accuracy of the robot. Rigidity and compliance are relatively contradictory in the design and manufacture of snake-like robots. [0004] One method in the prior art is to increase the flex...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0004] In the prior art, one method increases the flexibility of the robot by increasing the number of rigid joints, but this will make the driver have to control a large number of motors, resulting in problems such as difficulty in robot control, poor precision, and bulky size.

This often sacrifices the rigidity of the robot to improve compliance, which leads to the low rigidity of the robot in actual work, and it is difficult to have a large load capacity.

The other is to use softer materials to make snake-arm robots, but due to the super-redundancy of the robot and the nonlinear deformation after being stressed, it brings difficulties to the control accuracy and load capacity of the robot.

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