Kinematic Calibration of a Multisection Bionic Manipulator

This paper deals with the forward kinematic calibration of a bionic arm inspired from the organic elephant trunk and called compact bionic handling assistant (CBHA). First, a forward kinematic model is developed based on the principle of the constant curvature continuum robot theory. Then, two experimental setups are proposed in order to carry out the model calibration and validation. The first one is based on the trilateration method, while the second one is based on the coupling of the CBHA with a rigid six-degree-of-freedom rigid manipulator. The aim of the calibration is to enhance the precision of the forward kinematic model.