Discrete Cosserat Method for Soft Manipulators Workspace Estimation: An Optimization-Based Approach

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates the workspace estimation of soft manipulators. Given a configuration of such a soft robot, with the bounded actuators, the discrete Cosserat method is adopted to deduce the mathematical model of soft manipulators, based on which an optimization-based approach is proposed to estimate the workspace. Implemented to various soft manipulators’ configurations, numerical simulations are provided to highlight the feasibility of the proposed methodology.