Structure Design and Kinematics Analysis of Cable Tunnel Detection Soft Robot Arm
It is effective to use a robot for regular cable trench inspections to improve inspection efficiency instead of manual inspections.Currently,the cable trench detection robot lacks a flexible manipulator for close-range cable detection.The existing continuum manipulator has some limitations,including limited range of motion and low stiffness.Therefore,this paper presents a robotic arm configuration that combines rigid joints with variable stiffness continuum arms.Firstly,the basic configuration of the robotic arm is determined based on the characteristics of the cable trench.Then,the lifting joint,pitching joint,rolling joint,variable stiffness continuum arm and its driving mechanism are designed in detail.The continuum arm adopts the structure of an airbag blocking piece,which is expected to provide variable stiffness and improve the arm's load-bearing capacity.Finally,the kinematic model of the robotic arm is established using the D-H method,and kinematics simulation is performed.The simulation results validate the correctness of the model,and the workspace results demonstrate that the robotic arm's end effector can fully cover the entire cable trench.Subsequently,a physical prototype of the robotic arm is developed based on the mechanical arm structure designed in this study.The variable stiffness ability of the arm is verified by the variable stiffness experiment.By placing the robotic arm in a cable trench environment and observing its movements,it is demonstrated that the soft robotic arm is capable of effectively accessing narrow spaces between cables.
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