A moray drive of multi-joint manipulator.

A control method for multi-joint manipulator is proposed, which is based on the manipulator with slider mechanism at the base and controller which gives the bending angle command to all joints while shifting the angle commands to the adjacent joints with synchronization of the linear motion of slider. This method drives all joints of the manipulator as to always follow the same spatial trajectory, just like the motion of Moray, the fish living in the hole of rock on the ocean bed. It is thus called Moray drive. The characteristics of Moray drive are, i) possibility to use light-weight joint driving mechanism by subrogating most of the driving power to the slider, ii) simplicity of control in spite of the redundancy of the multi-joint system, iii) feasibility to make obstacle avoidance, and iv) little fluid resistance in case of the manipulation in the fluid environment. Several simulation experiments are performed as to Moray drive and basic knowledges are acquired, such as the optimal trajectory considering dynamics.