Parametric Design of a Tendon-Driven Continuum Robot for Industrial Applications

Continuum robot researchers must often create entirely new prototypes for their applications as existing continuum robot designs do not meet their requirements, especially for industrial applications. To address this issue, we leverage a parametric design for modular units, which can be utilized to create a Tendon-Driven Continuum Robot (TDCR) tailored to specific task requirements. Using a Design of Experiment approach, we identify the relationship between the modular units’ stiffness and dimensions, establishing a mathematical framework to guide TDCR parametrization. A structured workflow is provided to guide the development of TDCRs, from the definition of the task objectives to the experimental validation. For demonstration, an aircraft wing inspection task was selected and an 816 mm TDCR was prototyped using the parametric design approach. The TDCR successfully inspected all target areas in a 1:3 scaled Cessna 172 wing model, yielding a 100% coverage rate.