Hyper Redundant Robot Segmented Disk Joints for Confined Space Access
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Solution Overview
Problem
Hyper redundant robots face challenges in efficiently navigating confined spaces and applying forces due to their redundant degrees of freedom, which affects their ability to perform tasks like inspection and repair in gas turbines and other industrial settings.
Innovation Solution
A hyper redundant robot design featuring a first and second disk with distinct joint arrangements, where the first joint arrangement is stiffer and composed of materials like metal or ceramic, and the second joint arrangement is less stiff and composed of materials like rubber or super elastic metal, allowing for controlled rotational movement and improved accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the robot structure is made rigid to maintain stability and apply forces, then the robot can perform machining tasks accurately, but the robot cannot navigate confined spaces and obstacles effectively
Solution Approach 1:
The robot is divided into multiple modular segments (first robot portion, second robot portion, third robot portion) connected by joint arrangements. Each segment can independently move and position itself, allowing the overall structure to navigate confined spaces while maintaining local rigidity for task execution. The segmentation enables the robot to bend and conform to complex geometries while each rigid segment maintains structural integrity for force application.
Solution Approach 2:
The joint arrangements between robot portions are designed to be movable rather than fixed, enabling dynamic reconfiguration of the robot structure. The joints allow relative movement between segments during navigation, then can lock or stabilize when positioning is required. This dynamic capability allows the robot to transition between flexible navigation mode and rigid task execution mode, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural rigidity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the robot has high stiffness to maintain positioning accuracy, then the robot can perform precise machining, but the robot cannot smoothly curve around obstacles in confined spaces
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the robot into multiple segments with articulated joints, the system achieves smooth curvature capability through coordinated movement of individual segments. Each segment maintains its own rigid structure for positioning accuracy, while the joints between segments enable the overall chain to bend and follow complex paths around obstacles, resolving the contradiction between local rigidity and global flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The stiffness parameter of the robot structure is made variable through the joint arrangements, which can transition between locked (rigid) and unlocked (flexible) states. When navigating obstacles, the joints are unlocked to allow curvature; when performing machining tasks, the joints are locked to maintain positioning accuracy. This dynamic parameter change resolves the contradiction between manufacturing precision and ease of operation.
3Strength
If the joint arrangement is made stiff to maintain structural integrity, then the robot can apply forces for machining, but the robot cannot allow rotational movement for accessibility
Solution Approach 1:
The joint arrangements are designed with dynamic characteristics, allowing them to be rigid when structural integrity is needed for force application, and flexible when rotational movement is required for accessibility. The joints can transition between these states based on operational requirements, enabling the robot to maintain structural integrity during machining while allowing necessary movements for navigation and positioning.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design enables the robot to maintain rigidity for axial loads while allowing for smooth curvature around obstacles, enhancing its ability to accurately machine internal components and access confined areas.
Implementation Method 1
The second material may have a lower modulus of elasticity than the first material
Data Source
AI summary
A hyper redundant robot comprising: a first disk; a second disk positioned adjacent to the first disk, the first disk and the second disk having a longitudinal axis; a first joint arrangement positioned between the first disk and the second disk, the first disk and/or the second disk being in sliding contact with the first joint arrangement to enable the first disk and the second disk to rotate relative to one another; and a second joint arrangement positioned between the first disk and the second disk, the second joint arrangement being less stiff than the first joint arrangement.