Fruit harvesting continuum manipulator inspired by elephant trunk

Shao Tiefeng, Du Mingyu, Bao Guanjun, Zhang Libin, Yang Qinghua

Abstract


By combining the investigation of the biomechanics and behavior of elephant trunk in the performance of a wide range of dexterous manipulations, a novel approach in the design and kinematics modeling of a fruit harvesting continuum manipulator was proposed. By comparing the structure of two different species of elephant trunk, a new continuum structure which matched the key features of elephant trunk was designed. Based on analysis of the underlying elephant trunk’s grasping mode, a novel kinematics model was proposed. Contrast to traditional robot kinematics which focused on end effector’s position and posture, the proposed continuum manipulator kinematics focus on the center of manipulator’s position and posture, which is more effective when trunk robot realizing grasp and establishes the foundation for its application. Finally, three typical grasping experiments were implemented. The experiment results showed that the manipulator could conduct wrap/pinch manipulations effectively for both small objects and bigger ones.

DOI: 10.3965/j.ijabe.20150801.008

Citation: Shao T, Zhang L B, Du M Y, Bao G J, Yang Q H. Fruit harvesting continuum manipulator inspired by elephant trunk. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2015; 8(1): 57－63.

Keywords


fruit harvesting, continuum manipulator, kinematics, bionics, Jacobian, singularities

Full Text:

PDF

References


McMahan W, Jones B, Walker I, Chitrakaran V, Seshadri A, Dawson D. Robotic manipulators inspired by cephalopod limbs. Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association, 2011.

Neppalli S, Jones B A. Design, construction, and analysis of a continuum robot. IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), 2007: 1503–1507.

Webster R J, Jones B A. Design and kinematic modeling of constant curvature continuum robots: A review. The International Journal of Robotics Research, 2010; 29(13): 1661–1683.

Calamia J. Artifacts from the first 2000 years of computing. Spectrum, IEEE, 2011; 48(5): 34–40.

Hirose S, Yamada H. Snake-like robots. Robotics & Automation Magazine, IEEE, 2009, 16(1): 88–98.

Larson O, Davidson C. Flexible arm, particularly a robot arm: U.S. Patent 4,393,728. 1983-7-19.

Ikuta K, Tsukamoto M, Hirose S. Shape memory alloy servo actuator system with electric resistance feedback and application for active endoscope. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 1988: 427–430.

Suzumori K, Iikura S, Tanaka H. Applying a flexible microactuator to robotic mechanisms. Control Systems, IEEE, 1992; 12(1): 21–27.

Takahashi M, Hayashi I, Iwatsuki N, Kohichi Suzumori K, Ohli N. The development of an in-pipe microrobot applying the motion of an earthworm. Proceedings of 5th International Symposium on Micro Machine and Human Science, 1994: 35.

Immega G, Antonelli K. The KSI tentacle manipulator. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 1995, 3: 3149–3154.

Paljug E, Ohm T, Hayati S. The JPL serpentine robot: a 12-DOF system for inspection. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 1995, 3: 3143–3148.

Nakamura Y, Matsui A, Saito T, et al. Shape-memory-alloy active forceps for laparoscopic surgery. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 1995, 3: 2320–2327.

Lane D M, Davies J B C, Robinson G, O’Brien D J, Sneddon J, Seaton E. The AMADEUS dextrous subsea hand: design, modeling, and sensor processing. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 1999; 24(1): 96–111.

Hannan M W, Walker I D. Theelephant trunk manipulator, design and implementation. Proceedings of IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, 2001, 1: 14–19.

Gravagne I A, Walker I D. Manipulability, force, and compliance analysis for planar continuum manipulators. IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, 2002; 18(3): 263–273.

McMahan W, Jones B A, Walker I D. Design and implementation of a multi-section continuum robot: Air-Octor. Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2005: 2578–2585.

Jones B A, Walker I D. Practical kinematics for real-time implementation of continuum robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2006; 22(6): 1087–1099.

Neppalli S, Jones B A. Design, construction, and analysis of a continuum robot. Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2007: 1503–1507.

Ocrobotics, INC. Robots for Confined Spaces.http://www. ocrobotics.com/applications--solutions/Accessed on [2010-7- 09]

Festo, INC. Bionic handling assistant – flexible and compliant movement. http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/ 9655_10218.htm#id_10218. Accessed on [2010-6-09].

Sears P, Dupont P. A steerable needle technology using curved concentric tubes. Proceedings of IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2006: 2850–2856.

Harada K, Zhang B, Shin E, Toshio C, Masakatsu G F. Bending laser manipulator for intrauterine surgery and viscoelastic model of fetal rat tissue. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2007: 611–616.

Choi D G, Yi B J, Kim W K. Design of a spring backbone micro endoscope. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, 2007: 1815–1821.

Camarillo D B, Milne C F, Carlson C R, Zinn M R, Salisbury J K. Mechanics modeling of tendon-driven continuum manipulators. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2008; 24(6): 1262–1273.

Hu H Y, Li W D, Li J, Sun L N. Structure design and trafficability of colonoscopic robot. Journal of Harbin Engineering University, 2013; 34(2): 233–235.

Gao P. Research on key technologies and experiments of a conoic microrobot. Shanghai Jiaotong University, 2012.

Li Q, He B, Xie H. Dynamic Modeling and Simulation on Continuum Robot. Machine Design and Research, 2012; 28(2): 18–22.

Webster R J, Romano J M, Cowan N J. Mechanics of precurved-tube continuum robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2009; 25(1): 67–78.

Peirs J, Reynaerts D, Brussel H V, De Gersem G, Tang H W. Design of an advanced tool guiding system for robotic surgery. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2003: 2651–2656.

Harada K, Zhang B, Shin E, Toshio C, Masakatsu G F. Bending laser manipulator for intrauterine surgery and viscoelastic model of fetal rat tissue. IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2007: 611–616.

Ivanescu M, Florescu M C, Popescu N, Popescu D. Coil function control problem for a hyperredundant robot. Proceedings of IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, 2007: 1–6.

Rucker D C, Jones B A, Webster R J. A geometrically exact model for externally loaded concentric-tube continuum robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2010; 26(5): 769–780.

Andersson S B. Discretization of a continuous curve. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2008; 24(2): 456–461.

Xu K, Simaan N. An investigation of the intrinsic force sensing capabilities of continuum robots. IEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2008; 24(3): 576–587.

Paul Mackenzie. The trunk. http://elephant.elehost.com/ About_Elephants/Anatomy/The_Trunk/the_trunk.html. Accessed on [2009-5-10]

Bao G J. Research on characteristics of flexible pneumatic actuator FPA and its application in multi-fingered dexterous hand design. Zhejiang University of Technology, 2006.

Jones B A. Kinematic and implementation of continuum manipulators. Clemson University, 2005.

Elefantasia, INC. The world of the Asian elephant.http:// www.elefantasia.org/spip.php?article65〈=en. Accessed on [2010-7-09]




Copyright (c)



2023-2026 Copyright IJABE Editing and Publishing Office