Interacting with Obstacles Using a Bio-Inspired, Flexible, Underactuated Multilink Manipulator

With the increasing demand for robotic manipulators to operate in complex environments, it is important to develop designs that work in obstacle-rich environments and can navigate around obstacles. This paper aims to demonstrate the capabilities of a bio-inspired, underactuated multilink manipulator in environments with fixed and/or movable obstacles. To simplify the system design, a single rotational actuator is used at the base of the manipulator. We present a modeling method for flexible, multilink underactuated manipulators, including their interaction with obstacles. We also demonstrate how to plan a trajectory for the manipulator in environments with fixed obstacles. The robustness of the manipulator is examined by analyzing the effects of uncertainty in its initial state and the position of obstacles. Next, we demonstrate the performance of the manipulator in environments with movable obstacles and show the advantages of controlling the obstacles’ radii and positions. Lastly, we showcase the process of picking up an object in workspaces with obstacles. All the findings are supported by simulations as well as hardware experiments.