Title :
A hyper-redundant manipulator
Author :
Chirikjian, Gregory S. ; Burdick, Joel W.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Mech. Eng., Johns Hopkins Univ., Baltimore, MD, USA
Abstract :
"Hyper-redundant" manipulators have a very large number of actuatable degrees of freedom. The benefits of hyper-redundant robots include the ability to avoid obstacles, increased robustness with respect to mechanical failure, and the ability to perform new forms of robot locomotion and grasping. The authors examine hyper-redundant manipulator design criteria and the physical implementation of one particular design: a variable geometry truss.<>
Keywords :
manipulators; mechanical stability; redundancy; actuatable degrees of freedom; grasping; hyper-redundant manipulator; mechanical failure; obstacle avoidance; robot locomotion; variable geometry truss; Anthropomorphism; Computational geometry; Kinematics; Laboratories; Manipulator dynamics; Morphology; Orbital robotics; Robotics and automation; Robots; Robustness;
Journal_Title :
Robotics & Automation Magazine, IEEE
