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Continuum robots have strong potential for application
in Space environments. However, their modeling is challenging
in comparison with traditional rigid-link robots. The
Kinematic-Model-Free (KMF) robot control method has been
shown to be extremely effective in permitting a rigid-link robot
to learn approximations of local kinematics and dynamics (“kinodynamics”)
at various points in the robot’s task space. These
approximations enable the robot to follow various trajectories
and even adapt to changes in the robot’s kinematic structure. In
this paper, we present the adaptation of the KMF method to a
three-section, nine degrees-of-freedom continuum manipulator
for both planar and spatial task spaces. Using only an external
3D camera, we show that the KMF method allows the continuum
robot to converge to various desired set points in the robot’s
task space, avoiding the complexities inherent in solving this
problem using traditional inverse kinematics. The success of
the method shows that a continuum robot can “learn” enough
information from an external camera to reach and track desired
points and trajectories, without needing knowledge of exact
shape or position of the robot. We similarly apply the method
in a simulated example of a continuum robot performing an
inspection task on board the ISS.
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