Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons

Continuum robots have attracted increasing focus in recent years due to their intrinsic compliance that allows for dexterous and safe movements. However, the inherent compliance in such systems reduces the structural stiffness, and therefore leads to the issue of reduced positioning accuracy. This p...

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Main Authors: Kang, Rongjie, Guo, Yong, Chen, Lisha, Branson, David T., Dai, Jian S.
Format: Article
Published: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40263/
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author Kang, Rongjie
Guo, Yong
Chen, Lisha
Branson, David T.
Dai, Jian S.
author_facet Kang, Rongjie
Guo, Yong
Chen, Lisha
Branson, David T.
Dai, Jian S.
author_sort Kang, Rongjie
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Continuum robots have attracted increasing focus in recent years due to their intrinsic compliance that allows for dexterous and safe movements. However, the inherent compliance in such systems reduces the structural stiffness, and therefore leads to the issue of reduced positioning accuracy. This paper presents the design of a continuum robot employing tendon embedded pneumatic muscles (TEPMs). The pneumatic muscles are used to achieve large scale movements for preliminary positioning while the tendons are used for fine adjustment of position. Such hybrid actuation offers the potential to improve the accuracy of the robotic system, while maintaining large displacement capabilities. A 3-dimensional (3-D) dynamic model of the robot is presented using a mass-damper-spring based network, in which elastic deformation, actuating forces and external forces are taken into account. The design and dynamic model of the robot are then validated experimentally with the help of an electromagnetic tracking system.
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spelling nottingham-402632020-05-04T18:27:22Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40263/ Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons Kang, Rongjie Guo, Yong Chen, Lisha Branson, David T. Dai, Jian S. Continuum robots have attracted increasing focus in recent years due to their intrinsic compliance that allows for dexterous and safe movements. However, the inherent compliance in such systems reduces the structural stiffness, and therefore leads to the issue of reduced positioning accuracy. This paper presents the design of a continuum robot employing tendon embedded pneumatic muscles (TEPMs). The pneumatic muscles are used to achieve large scale movements for preliminary positioning while the tendons are used for fine adjustment of position. Such hybrid actuation offers the potential to improve the accuracy of the robotic system, while maintaining large displacement capabilities. A 3-dimensional (3-D) dynamic model of the robot is presented using a mass-damper-spring based network, in which elastic deformation, actuating forces and external forces are taken into account. The design and dynamic model of the robot are then validated experimentally with the help of an electromagnetic tracking system. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 2016-12-06 Article PeerReviewed Kang, Rongjie, Guo, Yong, Chen, Lisha, Branson, David T. and Dai, Jian S. (2016) Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics (99). ISSN 1083-4435 Hybrid actuation Continuum robots Pneumatic muscles Embedded tendons http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7775004 doi:10.1109/TMECH.2016.2636199 doi:10.1109/TMECH.2016.2636199
spellingShingle Hybrid actuation
Continuum robots
Pneumatic muscles
Embedded tendons
Kang, Rongjie
Guo, Yong
Chen, Lisha
Branson, David T.
Dai, Jian S.
Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons
title Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons
title_full Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons
title_fullStr Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons
title_full_unstemmed Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons
title_short Design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons
title_sort design of a pneumatic muscle based continuum robot with embedded tendons
topic Hybrid actuation
Continuum robots
Pneumatic muscles
Embedded tendons
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40263/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40263/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/40263/