Cable-Driven Mobile Manipulator With Telescopic Reach
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional assistive robots designed for human environments are often large, heavy, complex, and costly, limiting their reach and safety in everyday tasks, making them impractical for home use and requiring complex design and high maintenance.
Innovation Solution
A mobile manipulation system with a lightweight, compact design featuring a wheeled base, telescopic structure, and sensors, allowing for safe and efficient operation in human environments with reduced footprint and increased reach, enabling autonomous or remote operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional dexterous robot arms with five to seven revolute joints are used, then manipulation capability is improved, but the arm becomes large, heavy, and unsafe for human environments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical joint systems with a cable-driven parallel mechanism. Instead of using five to seven revolute joints with heavy actuators at each joint, the invention uses a single actuator that controls multiple cables to achieve the same manipulation capabilities. This substitution of mechanical systems dramatically reduces the weight and complexity of the robot arm while maintaining dexterous manipulation capability.
2Strength
If heavy dexterous arms are deployed in mobile robots, then manipulation strength is improved, but the base footprint and mass must increase to ensure stability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional serial mechanical arms with heavy actuators with a cable-driven parallel mechanism. This allows the robot to achieve manipulation strength through tension in multiple cables controlled by a single lightweight actuator, eliminating the need for heavy counterbalancing and large base structures required by traditional mechanical systems.
3Length of moving object
If long arms that extend beyond base footprint are used to increase reach, then workspace is improved, but the robot becomes prone to tipping
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical arms with a cable-driven parallel mechanism where the robot base remains compact. The long reach is achieved through the telescopic structure and cable tension control rather than extending mechanical arms beyond the base footprint, maintaining stability while achieving large workspace.
4Adaptability or versatility
If bulky dexterous arms are used to improve manipulation capability, then task performance is improved, but the arms obscure sensors' view of the environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces bulky mechanical arms with a slender cable-driven parallel mechanism. This allows sensors to be positioned on the compact robot base with unobstructed views of the environment, while the manipulation tasks are performed by the lightweight cable-driven arm that does not block sensor fields of view.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile manipulation system configured to perform objective tasks within human environments is provided. The mobile manipulation system can include a mobile base assembly including a computing device, at least two drive wheels, and a sensor. The mobile manipulation system can include an actuation assembly including a chain cartridge and a drive chain including a plurality of inter-connected links conveying at least one cable within an interior space of each inter-connected link. The actuation assembly system can also include a telescopic structure including a plurality of segments configured to extend and retract telescopically and conveying the drive chain therein. The mobile manipulation system can include a mast attached to the mobile base assembly along which the actuation assembly translates vertically and a head assembly atop the mast including a first collection of sensors. The mobile manipulation system can also include a manipulation payload coupled to the telescopic structure.