Novel Hyper-Redundant Manipulator： Design, Study and Experiment

A novel hyper-redundant manipulator named RT1 is designed and studied.The unique feature of RT1 is all degrees of freedom (DOF) are actuated with only one motor via special designed hinge bar universal joints.The mechanisms of RT1 are introduced in detail.Some experiments are carried out in order to test the movability and adaptability of the manipulator.RT1 is actuated by pulse string and acts discretely.The discrete working space of RT1 is described and the parameter optimization for kinematical redundancy resolution is studied also.The optimization criterion is altering the design parameter as little as possible during manipulator's motion from the initial position to the expected position.An[1] optimization example is given that is realized with Matlab optimize tool-box.