Caterpillar-Inspired Spring-Based Compressive Continuum Robot for Bristle-based Exploration
This provides a cost-effective upgrade for commercial robots to explore confined spaces like pipelines, though it is incremental in combining existing concepts.
The paper tackles confined-space exploration by developing a caterpillar-inspired spring-based continuum robot that integrates with commercial robotic arms, achieving a mean position error of 4.32 mm and demonstrating surface perception with an artificial bristle sensor.
Exploration of confined spaces, such as pipelines and ducts, remains challenging for conventional rigid robots due to limited space, irregular geometry, and restricted access. Inspired by caterpillar locomotion and sensing, this paper presents a compact spring-based tendon-driven continuum robot that integrates with commercial robotic arms for confined-space inspection. The system combines a mechanically compliant continuum body with a tendon actuation module, enabling coupled bending and axial length change, and uses a constant-curvature kinematic model for positional control. Experiments show a mean position error of 4.32 mm under the proposed model and control pipeline. To extend the system from motion to inspection, we integrate an artificial bristle contact sensor and demonstrate surface perception and confined-space exploration through contact interactions. This compact and compliant design offers a cost-effective upgrade for commercial robots and promises effective exploration in challenging environments.