Background
Continuum or "tentacle" type robotic actuators have several advantages over traditional rigid-link robots, in terms of flexibility and passive compliance. Tentacle actuators' higher number of degrees of freedom allow them to move and bend in ways that are not possible with rigid links. Also, because they are not rigid, they can flex when they come in contact with other objects. This allows them to safely interact with delicate materials such as living things.
These features could allow robotic tentacle
manipulators to be utilized in nontraditional ways. For instance, the entire tentacle could be used to pick up and manipulate objects, just as an elephant is able to pick up large objects using its entire trunk. This "whole arm manipulation" would greatly increase the versatility of a robot's possible interaction because it would allow the use of the entire actuator rather than just an
end-effecter at the tip.
Presently, however, tentacle manipulators are still limited in their flexibility. They are divided in sections, each of which can bend independently, but the lengths of each bending section are fixed. The capacity to adjust where these sections end would allow the tentacle even more flexibility and would likely be very useful in whole arm manipulation.
Purpose
This project seeks to investigate the possible creation of a tentacle actuator wherein the ending locations of its bending sections are moveable rather than fixed. This will be done by incorporating springs along the continuous spine of the actuator and attaching the cable supports to the springs rather than to the spine itself. An extra set of cables will also be used to maintain tension in the springs and manipulate the location of the cable supports. The characteristics of this prototype tentacle will then be studied and the usefulness of this new design will be assessed.