The study of robotic manipulating and locomoting machines has traditionally focused on mechanisms designed either to completely eliminate any flexibility in the linkages or to allow a “small” amount of incidental flexible motion that dies down over time. Clearly, at least at a macroscopic level, the natural domination of arms and legs supports this focus. However, certain creatures enjoy the benefits of a purposefully flexible design, for example elephants, octopi, lamprey and a variety of other animals. This manuscript explores some fundamental results in the quest to create, understand and effectively utilize highly flexible appendages that do not contain rigid links, termed “continuum manipulators.” The text features a simple prototype robot, the Tentacle Manipulator, and presents results in kinematics, dynamics, control and design for continuum manipulators.
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