Analysis and heading control of continuum planar snake robot based on kinematics and a general solution thereof. (3rd March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ariizumi, Ryo; Tanaka, Motoyasu; Matsuno, Fumitoshi
• Is Part Of: Advanced robotics. Volume 30:Number 5(2016)
• Page Start: 301
• Page End: 314
• Publication Date: 2016-03-03
• Subjects: Snake robots -- continuum approximation -- kinematic model -- heading control -- singularity avoidance; Robotics -- Periodicals; Robotics -- Japan -- Periodicals; Robotics; Japan; Periodicals; 629.89205
• DOI: 10.1080/01691864.2015.1118409
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0169-1864

Abstract

Abstract : This paper presents a kinematic calculation and control method for an inextensible continuum planar snake robot. The snake robot is assumed to move without side slipping; this constraint makes it easy to construct its kinematic model based on which we can analyze the movement of the robot. The kinematic model is expressed as a semi-linear partial differential equation (PDE). We discuss the general solution of the PDE and a calculation method based on it. However, the constraint also raises the problem of singular posture. The problem of singularities has been addressed for a snake robot with a serial link structure; however, for a continuum snake robot, much less research has been carried out. In this paper, we propose a method for controlling the direction of movement while avoiding singularities. The validity of our method is tested through simulations and experiments. Graphical Abstract: