Impact manipulation by a hyper-flexible robotic manipulator

In this paper, we propose the impact manipulation of a string-like hyper-flexible robot where an impact force is applied to a given target point. The proposed impact manipulation law consists of three phases; the feedforward and feedback swing phases, and the positioning phase, based on the information on the estimated angular velocity at the connecting point between the hyper-flexible body and the actuator. First, in the feedforward swing phase, we apply sinusoidal horizontal motion generated by a linear actuator to one end of the manipulator. Next, we switch to the feedback swing phase where the estimated angular velocity at the connecting point between the hyper-flexible body and the actuator is utilized to obtain stably large swing motion of the manipulator. Finally, in the positioning phase, we bring the actuator to the target position after waiting for the timing judged from the angular velocity information so as not to damp the obtained large swing until the impact. Experimental results are shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposed impact manipulation law.