Simplified Sensing and Control of a Plant-Inspired Cable Driven Manipulator

Moving in complex and unstructured environments is still an open challenge in the robotic community. However, if we look at the plant kingdom, it is possible to find different promising solutions to overcome the problem. The continuum structure of the climbing plants allows to efficiently move in different environment by adapting and exploiting the surroundings. Similar to climbing plants, continuum robots proved to be very versatile. Their structure allows them to be inherently compliant, and to move in complex environments. However, due to their complex mechanical structure, and to their application as manipulators or inspections tools, the strategies to control such robots are not straightforward. In this work, we propose and prove a novel approach for identifying the location of a possible supporting structure for a continuum arm inspired by vines. Differently from the common approaches, our solution uses a simplified control strategy and an array of sensors for the detection of only the occurrence of contact. The position of the contact point is computed by means of a kinematic model of the manipulator. Results are still preliminary but encouraging for the development of novel strategies for adaptive exploration. The work serves as a basis for the development of a vine-inspired robot able to coil around supporting structures.