Three-dimensional modeling and simulation of manipulating deformable linear objects

Three-dimensional dynamic modeling and numerical simulation of manipulating deformable linear objects (DLOs) such as hoses, wire and cables are studied in this paper. Several coordinate systems are introduced first to describe the deformation of DLOs. The dynamic three-dimensional deformation of an inextensible linear object is formulated using finite element method (FEM) and lagrange motion equations. The proposed method provides more efficient simulation of dynamic manipulating DLOs with faster computation speed. Two simulation examples are illustrated to confirm the effectiveness of our methods. One is a comparison simulation study and the other shows the three-dimensional dynamic character of the DLO.