Design, Implementation, and Kinematics of a Twisting Robot Continuum Arm Inspired by Human Forearm Movements

Al-Ibadi, Alaa; Abbas, Khalid A.; Al-Atwani, Mohammed; Al-Fahaam, Hassanin

Abstract

In this article, a soft robot arm that has the ability to twist in two directions is designed. This continuum arm is inspired by the twisting movements of the human upper limb. In this novel continuum arm, two contractor pneumatic muscle actuators (PMA) are used in parallel, and a self-bending contraction actuator (SBCA) is laid between them to establish the twisting movement. The proposed soft robot arm has additional features, such as the ability to contract and bend in multiple directions. The kinematics for the proposed arm is presented to describe the position of the distal end centre according to the dimensions and positions of the actuators and the bending angle of the SBCA in different pressurized conditions. Then, the rotation behaviour is controlled by a high precision controller system.

Citation

Al-Ibadi, A., Abbas, K. A., Al-Atwani, M., & Al-Fahaam, H. (2022). Design, Implementation, and Kinematics of a Twisting Robot Continuum Arm Inspired by Human Forearm Movements. Robotics, 11(3), 55. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics11030055

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 19, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Apr 22, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 22, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jun 21, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 21, 2022
• Journal: Robotics
• Publisher: MDPI
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 55
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics11030055
• Keywords: soft robotics, pneumatic muscle actuators (PMA), twisting, kinematics, human forearm
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics11030055