A general formulation and approach to constrained, continuum manipulation

A continuum manipulator is particularly suitable for performing tasks in cluttered environments with limited space for maneuvering and is even more flexible with a mobile base. However, to perform a task, the motion of a continuum manipulator must not only avoid obstacles, i.e. subject to environment constraints, but also satisfy certain position and orientation constraints imposed by the task. An important open issue is how to enable a (mobile) continuum manipulator to perform a task-constrained motion while avoiding obstacles. In this paper, we introduce a general formulation of the problem and an approach to automatic planning of mobile continuum manipulation under general task and environmental constraints. The effectiveness of the approach is verified by simulation and real experiments. Graphical Abstract

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