The Structure and Application of a Flexible Manipulator Based on Octopus Biomimetics

Abstract

With the gradual development of modern science and technology, robotic arms have become increasingly important equipment, which can replace humans to complete various tasks. It has played an important role in many fields such as science, military, and industry. But the traditional rigid manipulator is often limited in some special working environments. With the development of Bionics, people find that flexible manipulator has better performance in the special working environment. This article studies the mechanical structure, driving mode, control mode, and bionic suction cup of the octopus’s biomimetic robotic arm, and conducts application analysis in three aspects: underwater rescue, narrow space operation, and fire rescue. It has been proven that flexible robotic arms have higher flexibility and larger motion space than rigid robotic arms. The octopus’s biomimetic robotic arm has high flexibility and large load-bearing capacity, which has great research significance in dealing with special working environments such as narrow spaces.