Cable Configuration and Driving Force Analysis of a Cable-Driven Hyper-Redundant Manipulator

A cable-driven hyper-redundant manipulator receives great attention due to its slender body and flexible movement. The configuration of the driving cable is the key to manipulator design. At present, cables are arranged at equal angles on the disk, but it lacks theoretical support. The analysis about the influence of cable positions on cable tensions is relatively deficient. In this paper, the force on links is studied. The influence of cable positions on driving force is analyzed. The relationship between cable position, driving force, external force and joint angles are studied. Numerical simulation is carried out to verify the theoretical analysis. The results show the maximum of driving forces is the smallest when cables are arranged at equal angles and decreases as the cable position becomes uniform. The results explain the rationality of the equal configuration of the cables in the cable-driven hyper-redundant manipulator. It’s beneficial to guide the design of cable-driven manipulator.