Shape-Changing Manipulator Possibilities and the Effect of the Deformable Segment on the Size of theWorking Area

Research of customized serial manipulators seeks to robotize tasks in dense built environments, where arbitrary kinematic structures synethised for given trajectories can perform such tasks without collisions. This paper presents the effect of deformable manipulator links on manipulator working envelope and torque demand. Four manipulator structures were designed. One with unreformable segments, one with deformed segments, and two combined structures, with one deformed and one undeformed segment. The article discusses the effect of different structures on the size and shape of the manipulator working envelope. Furthermore, the flexibility of the system is mentioned in case of inserting a cubic obstacle into the manipulator's working envelope. Next, the influence of the shape of the manipulator when performing the path that all structures of the manipulator can perform is discussed. According to the necessary drive torques for the desired motion, it appears that the best manipulator is the manipulator with undeformed (straight) segments. For this reason, it is beneficial to deploy a deformable manipulator only in cases where the kinematic structure of the straight manipulator is not able to perform desired movement.