Curve-Based Approach for Shape Reconstruction and planning of a Mobile-Continuum Manipulator in Structured Environment

Abstract

Continuum manipulators are a popular research topic due to their use in a wide variety of fields including medical, military and exploration. However, a mobile-continuum manipulator can have a higher dexterity and therefore even higher opportunities for application. This paper presents a unified geometric modeling approach for path planning and shape reconstruction of a mobile-continuum manipulator. For both components of the considered robotic system, namely: the shape for the continuum manipulator; the path planning for the reconstructed shape and the mobile base, Pythagorean Hodograph (PH) curves are proposed as a common modeling tool. The PH curves are optimized under various conditions, so as to be applicable for various tasks like path planning, shape reconstruction, and obstacle avoidance. The proposed unified modeling is tested on a mobile-continuum manipulator ‘RobotinoXT’ consisting of a ‘Compact Bionic Handling Assistant (CBHA)' continuum manipulator mounted on a ‘Robotino’ mobile base.