Virtual interactive simulation of flexible tubing systems for robotic arms
摘要
The Industry 4.0 vision features interconnected machines, systems, and processes that work together to create a complex, flexible ecosystem, including advanced robotic arms capable of autonomous operation within smart manufacturing environments. Enhancing the realism of robotic arm movements and behavior directly impacts the perceived realism in virtual simulations, creating an environment for virtually testing motion plans prior to their deployment in the manufacturing facility. The main work aims for a curve model, which, through the definition of some control values, approximates the kinematic properties of the flexible tubing systems during the articulated movement of the robotic arm. Virtually sensing these kinematics in real-time enables better decision-making regarding the possibilities of motion plans, considering the material limitations of the flexible tubes to constrain certain articulations for the robot. For modeling flexibility, a knot vector slightly alters the resulting geometry while maintaining the control points. Functions, such as curvature, aid in controlling the model shape to a specific state within the parameterization, to accomplish the best possible material approximation the virtual system represents.