用于连续体机器人间可重定位磁耦合的传送带机构
A Conveyor Belt Mechanism for Repositionable Magnetic Coupling Between Continuum Robots
Ella Walsh, Eric Diller, Jessica Burgner-Kahrs
AI 速览：提出一种可集成于腱驱动连续体机器人内部的传送带机构，实现功能元件沿机器人本体的连续主动重定位，并以磁耦合案例验证其可调刚度能力。
This work proposes a novel conveyor belt mechanism enabling continuous, active repositioning of functional elements along the body of a tendon-driven continuum robot. Up to three conveyor belt mechanisms are integrated within a 9 mm diameter continuum robot. We demonstrate equivalent or reduced conveyor belt actuation forces compared to robot tendon actuation forces. As a case study, we mount permanent magnets along two conveyor belts, and demonstrate actively reconfigurable inter-robot coupling. Coupling point location and quantity can be adjusted during robot operation to actively tune the effective stiffness of the coupled multi-robot system. We show that effective stiffness follows a predictable inverse-cubic relationship with coupling location, and increases with the number of coupling points. These findings demonstrate that the conveyor belt mechanism enables active functional element repositioning for changing tasks requirements, with magnetic inter-robot coupling as one proof-of-concept.