Compliant Segment

The increasing demand for automation in tasks involving hard-to-reach areas, complex paths, and unstructured environments has led to the development of highly dexterous and adaptable robots. Traditional robots with discrete structures and limited degrees of freedom face significant challenges in performing tasks in confined spaces, such as non-destructive inspection and maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO). To address these limitations, researchers have turned to continuum robots. These robots, characterized by continuously bending structures and curvilinear forms, offer the potential to navigate and operate effectively in confined areas inaccessible to standard robots. 

In this project, the design of a compliant segment was developed to be used as the building unit of a tendon-driven continuum robot. The design underwent several stages of trials reaching the final structure that was