Research on the sEMG-Driven Cable-Actuated Continuum Manipulator for Offshore Photovoltaic Coupled Electrolysis Hydrogen Production Operation and Maintenance

Offshore photovoltaic coupled electrolysis hydrogen production systems operate in complex marine environments, which puts high requirements on safety for operation and maintenance. To reduce manual intervention and support remote operation and maintenance, this paper proposes a surface electromyography (sEMG)-driven cable-actuated continuum manipulator for offshore photovoltaic coupled hydrogen production operation and maintenance (O&M). The sEMG signals from the operator’s upper limb are collected, filtered, classified, and mapped to predefined manipulator motion commands for generating the desired trajectories. The genetic algorithm-back propagation (BP) neural network pattern classifier is designed for motion classification. Kinematic and dynamic models, as well as the torque controller of the cable-driven continuum manipulator, are established. The reported classification and simulation results, together with laboratory observations, support the feasibility of sEMG-based motion-intention recognition and predefined command generation and illustrate manipulator trajectory-following trends under controlled laboratory conditions. This provides a proof-of-concept basis for future operation and maintenance tasks in offshore photovoltaic coupled electrolysis hydrogen production systems. The present study evaluated sEMG-based motion-intention recognition and manipulator trajectory tracking under controlled laboratory conditions. Performance under offshore disturbances and safety during physical contact remain to be evaluated.