通过环形束让软体机器人自动弯折,轻松通过狭窄弯曲通道。
Enabling High-Curvature Navigation in Eversion Robots through Buckle-Inducing Constrictive Bands
- 在机器人外壁加不可伸缩环带,主动引发屈曲以降低弯曲刚度。
- 实验显示弯曲刚度下降91%,可稳定通过半径仅25毫米的180度弯道。
- 无需主动控制,适合医疗内窥或管道检测等高曲率场景。
尖端生长式外翻机器人能通过狭窄通道进入远端空间,但导航可靠性仍是难题。现有方案多依赖集成人工肌肉或主动转向机构,增加结构复杂性,削弱其固有的柔软与顺应优势。本文提出一种被动方法:在机器人外壁周期性嵌入不可伸缩的直径缩减环带,主动引入屈曲点,降低弯曲刚度。该设计利用机器人与环境的自然交互实现平滑、顺应的前进。我们建立基于柯塞拉杆的数学模型,量化环带引起的局部刚度下降及其对整体弯曲力学的影响。实验表明,该设计使机器人在尖端弯曲时刚度降低达91%,可在相同条件下稳定通过弯曲半径低至25 mm的180度弯道,显著优于标准外翻机器人(最低35 mm)。案例研究在结肠仿体中验证了方法可行性。该方法在不牺牲柔软性且不增加机械复杂度的前提下,极大提升了机器人在高曲率路径中的适应能力,适用于管道检测或结肠镜检查等场景。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Tip-growing eversion robots are renowned for their ability to access remote spaces through narrow passages. However, achieving reliable navigation remains a significant challenge. Existing solutions often rely on artificial muscles integrated into the robot body or active tip-steering mechanisms. While effective, these additions introduce structural complexity and compromise the defining advantages of eversion robots: their inherent softness and compliance. In this paper, we propose a passive approach to reduce bending stiffness by purposefully introducing buckling points along the robot's outer wall. We achieve this by integrating inextensible diameter-reducing circumferential bands at regular intervals along the robot body facilitating forward motion through tortuous, obstacle cluttered paths. Rather than relying on active steering, our approach leverages the robot's natural interaction with the environment, allowing for smooth, compliant navigation. We present a Cosserat rod-based mathematical model to quantify this behavior, capturing the local stiffness reductions caused by the constricting bands and their impact on global bending mechanics. Experimental results demonstrate that these bands reduce the robot's stiffness when bent at the tip by up to 91 percent, enabling consistent traversal of 180 degree bends with a bending radius of as low as 25 mm-notably lower than the 35 mm achievable by standard eversion robots under identical conditions. The feasibility of the proposed method is further demonstrated through a case study in a colon phantom. By significantly improving maneuverability without sacrificing softness or increasing mechanical complexity, this approach expands the applicability of eversion robots in highly curved pathways, whether in relation to pipe inspection or medical procedures such as colonoscopy.
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