FULL COMPLIANT CONTINUUM ROBOTIC FINGER AND ITS KINEMATIC MODEL

Different from the traditional rigid robots made by hard material such as metal, continuum robots are bionic mechanisms which feature high compliance and continuous shapechanging ability. A full compliant continuum robotic finger is proposed, which is driven by the compressed air inside its silicon rubber chamber and has a certain degree of grasping rigidity. By the moment equilibrium analysis, the mathematical model for the inside compressed air pressure and the bending angle of the finger is established. The kinematic Cartesian coordinates for the proposed continuum robotic finger are constructed based on the D-H method. Then the kinematic model is derived. Simulation and experimental results showed that the proposed full compliant continuum robotic finger has abilities of continuous compliant shape-changing and movement, and the established kinematic model can describe the finger’s movement process and its characteristics.