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CN-117781080-B - Self-adaptive soft robot for pipeline and driving method thereof

CN117781080BCN 117781080 BCN117781080 BCN 117781080BCN-117781080-B

Abstract

The application discloses a self-adaptive soft robot for a pipeline and a driving method thereof, wherein the self-adaptive soft robot for the pipeline comprises a robot main body, the robot main body comprises a cooperative unit, the cooperative unit comprises a gas pipe, an anchoring structure and a telescopic structure, the anchoring structure and the telescopic structure are mutually communicated, the gas pipe is used for simultaneously inflating or exhausting the anchoring structure and the telescopic structure, the anchoring structure can be inflated circumferentially and stops being inflated to a first air pressure and anchored in the pipeline when being inflated, the telescopic structure can be stretched axially when being inflated to exceed a second air pressure, wherein the second air pressure is larger than the first air pressure, so that the telescopic structure stretches to drive the gravity center of the cooperative unit to move along the stretching direction of the telescopic structure after the anchoring structure is inflated and stops being inflated by the cooperative unit. Through setting up first cooperation unit and second cooperation unit to control respectively that two same units aerify or bleed, realize the removal of robot main part, and promote the reliability that the robot main part used.

Inventors

  • LUO ZONGFU
  • ZHAO ZIYUE
  • YANG YIZHOU
  • HOU WANTING
  • ZHUANG QI

Assignees

  • 中山大学

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20231226

Claims (18)

  1. 1. A self-adaptive soft robot for a pipeline is characterized by comprising A robot body including a cooperative unit; the air delivery pipe is used for simultaneously inflating or exhausting the anchoring structure and the telescopic structure, the anchoring structure can expand circumferentially when inflated and stops expanding when inflated to a first air pressure and is anchored in a pipeline, the telescopic structure can extend axially when inflated to exceed a second air pressure, and the second air pressure is larger than the first air pressure, so that the anchoring structure is inflated, anchored and stops expanding when inflated, and the telescopic structure extends to drive the gravity center of the synergistic unit to move along the extending direction of the telescopic structure; The telescopic structure of the first cooperative unit is adjacent to the telescopic structure of the second cooperative unit, the axial directions of the two telescopic structures are consistent, one of the first cooperative unit and the second cooperative unit is used for inflation anchoring, after the telescopic structure of the one telescopic structure is inflated and stretched, the other telescopic structure is inflated to the first air pressure to realize anchoring, then one telescopic structure is pumped to release the anchoring, and the telescopic structure of the one telescopic structure is contracted to enable the robot main body to move in a pipeline.
  2. 2. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline according to claim 1, wherein the anchoring structure comprises an elastic inflation member and a flexible restraint member, the gas pipe is communicated with the elastic inflation member to enable the elastic inflation member to be inflated or deflated, and the flexible restraint member is sleeved on the periphery of the elastic inflation member to restrain the elastic inflation member when the elastic inflation member is inflated to reach the maximum volume of the flexible restraint member.
  3. 3. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline as recited in claim 2, wherein the elastic inflatable member comprises a latex film tube and the flexible restraint member comprises a fabric structure.
  4. 4. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline as set forth in claim 2, wherein the outer surface of the flexible restraint is further provided with an anti-slip coating, and the anti-slip coating is dotted on the outer surface of the flexible restraint.
  5. 5. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an air delivery auxiliary pipe is arranged in the telescopic structure in a penetrating manner, the air delivery auxiliary pipe is not communicated with an inner cavity of the telescopic structure, one end of the air delivery auxiliary pipe is used for being communicated with the telescopic structure of the other cooperative unit, and the length of the air delivery auxiliary pipe arranged in the telescopic structure is larger than or equal to the maximum length of the telescopic structure when the telescopic structure is extended.
  6. 6. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline of claim 5, wherein said telescoping structure comprises a bellows that is axially extendable when inflated and axially contractible when deflated, a first fixed plug that is closed at an end of said bellows that faces said anchoring structure, and a second fixed plug that is closed at an end of said bellows that faces away from said anchoring structure; The first fixing plug and the second fixing plug are respectively provided with a first mounting hole, and two ends of the gas transmission auxiliary pipe are respectively penetrated through the two first mounting holes.
  7. 7. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline as set forth in claim 6, wherein the first and second fixed plugs are further provided with second mounting holes, the second mounting holes are communicated with the corrugated pipe, and the second mounting holes are not communicated with the first mounting holes; the second mounting hole of the first fixed plug is communicated with the anchoring structure, and the second mounting hole of the second fixed plug is communicated with the second mounting hole of the second fixed plug of the other cooperative unit; The second mounting hole of the second fixing plug of the second cooperative unit is used for conveying gas for the second cooperative unit, the first cooperative unit conveys gas through one end, far away from the telescopic structure, of the anchoring structure, and the first mounting hole of the first fixing plug of the second cooperative unit is further provided with a plug used for plugging a gas conveying auxiliary pipe located in the telescopic structure of the second cooperative unit.
  8. 8. The adaptive soft robot for a pipe of claim 6, wherein said bellows is axially extendable when inflated and said bellows maintains an extended length.
  9. 9. The adaptive soft robot for a pipe of claim 7, wherein the robot body further comprises a flexible sleeve and a unit connection pipe for communicating a second mounting hole of a second fixing plug of the first cooperative unit with a second mounting hole of a second fixing plug of the second cooperative unit; the two ends of the flexible sleeve are respectively sleeved on the periphery of the second fixed plug of the first cooperative unit and the periphery of the second fixed plug of the second cooperative unit, so that the unit connecting pipe is sealed in the flexible sleeve.
  10. 10. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline of claim 6, wherein the second cooperative unit further includes a gas transmission bypass pipe having one end communicated with the first mounting hole of the first fixing plug of the first cooperative unit for transmitting gas to the second cooperative unit; the gas delivery bypass conduit is secured to the outer periphery of the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit.
  11. 11. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline as set forth in claim 10, wherein the second cooperative unit further comprises a fixing member fixed to an outer periphery of the anchoring structure of the first cooperative unit, and the gas bypass pipe is fastened to the fixing member or the gas bypass pipe is penetrated through the fixing member.
  12. 12. The adaptive soft robot for a pipe according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a load assembly provided at an end of the anchoring structure of the second cooperative unit facing away from the telescopic structure, the load assembly being for setting a task load.
  13. 13. The adaptive software robot for a pipeline according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a gas source and a gas valve, wherein the gas source is connected to the gas valve, the gas valve is respectively connected to the first coordination unit and the second coordination unit, and the gas source is selected to transmit gas to the first coordination unit or the second coordination unit through the gas valve.
  14. 14. The adaptive soft robot for a pipeline of claim 13, further comprising a controller electrically connected to the gas source to control the gas source to deliver gas to the first and second collaboration units.
  15. 15. A driving method of an adaptive soft robot for a pipe, wherein the driving method is implemented by the adaptive soft robot for a pipe according to any one of claims 1 to 14 to drive a robot body to advance or retreat, wherein the advance of the robot body includes at least one movement period, and the retreat of the robot body includes at least one movement period, and the movement period to drive the advance of the robot body includes: Inflating the first synergistic unit such that the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit expands and anchors in the conduit when inflated to the first air pressure; continuously inflating the first cooperative unit to enable the telescopic structure of the first cooperative unit to extend when the telescopic structure is inflated to exceed the second air pressure so as to drive the gravity center of the robot main body to move towards the second cooperative unit; stopping inflating the first cooperative unit, and maintaining the air pressure in the first cooperative unit to maintain the current state of the first cooperative unit; inflating the second synergistic unit such that the anchoring structure of the second synergistic unit expands and anchors in the conduit when inflated to the first air pressure; Stopping inflating the second cooperative unit, and maintaining the air pressure in the second cooperative unit to maintain the current state of the second cooperative unit; Pumping air from the first synergistic unit to de-anchor the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit from the pipeline; continuously exhausting the first cooperative unit to shrink the telescopic structure of the first cooperative unit so as to drive the gravity center of the robot main body to move towards the direction of the second cooperative unit; pumping the second synergistic unit to un-anchor the anchoring structure of the second synergistic unit from the pipeline; Or alternatively The movement cycle for driving the robot body to retreat includes: inflating the second synergistic unit such that the anchoring structure of the second synergistic unit expands and anchors in the conduit when inflated to the first air pressure; continuously inflating the second cooperative unit to enable the telescopic structure of the second cooperative unit to extend when the telescopic structure is inflated to exceed the second air pressure so as to drive the gravity center of the robot main body to move towards the first cooperative unit; Stopping inflating the second cooperative unit, and maintaining the air pressure in the second cooperative unit to maintain the current state of the second cooperative unit; Inflating the first synergistic unit such that the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit expands and anchors in the conduit when inflated to the first air pressure; stopping inflating the first cooperative unit, and maintaining the air pressure in the first cooperative unit to maintain the current state of the first cooperative unit; pumping the second synergistic unit to un-anchor the anchoring structure of the second synergistic unit from the pipeline; continuously exhausting the second cooperative unit to shrink the telescopic structure of the second cooperative unit so as to drive the gravity center of the robot main body to move towards the direction of the first cooperative unit; the first synergistic unit is pumped down to un-anchor the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit from the pipeline.
  16. 16. A method of driving an adaptive soft robot for a pipeline according to claim 15, wherein the stopping of the inflation of the first cooperative unit during the forward movement of the driving robot body maintains the air pressure in the first cooperative unit to maintain the current state of the first cooperative unit, the driving method further comprising Continuously inflating the first cooperative unit to the maximum pressure resistance value of the anchoring structure of the first cooperative unit, wherein the maximum pressure resistance value of the anchoring structure is larger than the second air pressure; Or alternatively The driving method further comprises the steps of, during the movement period of driving the robot body to retract, stopping the inflation of the second cooperative unit, and maintaining the air pressure in the second cooperative unit to maintain the current state of the second cooperative unit And continuously inflating the second cooperative unit to a maximum pressure resistance value of the anchoring structure of the second cooperative unit, wherein the maximum pressure resistance value of the anchoring structure is larger than the second air pressure.
  17. 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the pumping the first synergistic unit to release the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit from the pipeline during the forward motion of the robot body, and the pumping the first synergistic unit to retract the telescopic structure of the first synergistic unit to move the center of gravity of the robot body in the direction of the second synergistic unit comprises: pumping air from the first cooperative unit and starting timing, and stopping pumping air until t 0 , so that the anchoring structure of the first cooperative unit is firstly released from the pipeline, and the telescopic structure of the first cooperative unit is contracted; Or alternatively And continuously pumping the second cooperative unit to shrink the telescopic structure of the second cooperative unit so as to drive the gravity center of the robot main body to move towards the direction of the first cooperative unit, wherein the step of pumping the second cooperative unit in the movement period for driving the robot main body to retreat comprises the following steps: And (3) exhausting the second cooperative unit and starting timing, and stopping exhausting until t 0 so that the anchoring structure of the second cooperative unit is firstly released from the pipeline, and the telescopic structure of the second cooperative unit is contracted.
  18. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said pumping the second cooperating unit during the forward motion of the driving robot body to un-anchor the anchoring structure of the second cooperating unit from the pipeline comprises: Pumping the second synergistic unit and starting timing until t X , stopping pumping to de-anchor the anchoring structure of the second synergistic unit from the pipeline, wherein t X ＜t 0 ; Or alternatively During a motion cycle in which the driving robot body is retracted, the pumping the first synergistic unit to un-anchor the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit from the pipeline includes: The first synergistic unit is pumped down and timing is started until it is stopped at t X to unseat the anchoring structure of the first synergistic unit from the pipeline, where t X ＜t 0 .

Description

Self-adaptive soft robot for pipeline and driving method thereof Technical Field The application relates to the technical field of soft robots, in particular to a self-adaptive soft robot for a pipeline and a driving method thereof. Background The soft robot has the advantages of simple structure, strong adaptability, light weight, large degree of freedom, large load-to-weight ratio and the like, has larger application advantages in the field of pipeline detection compared with the traditional rigid robot with limited degree of freedom, and can be used for detecting complex pipeline environments, such as geological drilling detection, industrial equipment overhaul, urban infrastructure pipeline maintenance, medical examination (such as proctoscope examination), clinical operation (such as endoscopic operation through a natural cavity), and the like. In the related art, a soft robot for the pipeline detection field usually adopts a motion mechanism to inspire a worm robot from inchworm, and the worm robot is generally composed of 3 modules from beginning to end, namely a front anchoring module, an extension module and a rear anchoring module. In a movement period, the robot anchors the rear anchoring module firstly, fixes the tail of the robot in a pipeline through friction clamping or sucking discs, then expands the extension module, pushes the gravity center of the robot to move forward, anchors the front anchoring module, unloads the rear anchoring module, fixes the head of the robot in the pipeline, and finally shortens the extension module, pushes the gravity center of the robot to move forward, unloads the front anchoring module and completes the movement period. By performing the steps in the above described motion cycle in either a positive or reverse order, the robot can achieve both forward and reverse motion in the pipe. However, the soft robot in the related art has the problems that firstly, the front anchoring module, the extension module and the rear anchoring module need to be driven respectively, so that the number of gas pipes and cables which are required to be led out of the soft robot is large, the reliability of the soft robot in a complex pipeline environment is reduced, and secondly, the inner wall of the complex pipeline environment is generally provided with a rough surface, and the pipeline can be filled with liquid or cannot bear suction cup negative pressure, so that the soft robot is unfavorable to be anchored by adopting suction cups. If the anchoring is clamped by friction, the air bag used for providing the clamping force is easily damaged by sharp objects in the inner wall, the inner wall of the pipeline can be damaged by the overpressure rupture of the air bag, and thirdly, the inner diameter of the pipeline in a complex pipeline environment is generally changed, whether the anchoring module is successfully anchored or not needs to be detected by using a sensor and an algorithm, the extension module can be unfolded only when the anchoring is successful, and otherwise, the robot cannot normally move. The introduction of sensors and algorithms will increase the cost of the soft robot, and moreover conventional sensors are often difficult to adapt to the soft robot. Disclosure of Invention In order to solve at least one of the above technical problems, the present application provides a self-adaptive soft robot for a pipeline and a driving method thereof, which can realize an anchoring action and a telescoping action by using gas transmission to a cooperative unit, and improve the reliability of the use of a robot main body. According to the application, the self-adaptive soft robot for the pipeline comprises a robot main body, wherein the robot main body comprises a cooperative unit, the cooperative unit comprises a gas pipe, an anchoring structure and a telescopic structure, the anchoring structure and the telescopic structure are mutually communicated, the gas pipe is used for simultaneously inflating or deflating the anchoring structure and the telescopic structure, the anchoring structure can be inflated circumferentially and stops being inflated to a first air pressure and anchored in the pipeline when being inflated, the telescopic structure can be stretched axially when being inflated to exceed a second air pressure, the second air pressure is higher than the first air pressure, so that after the anchoring structure is inflated and stopped being inflated by the cooperative unit, the telescopic structure stretches to drive the gravity center of the cooperative unit to move along the stretching direction of the telescopic structure, the telescopic structure comprises a first cooperative unit and a second cooperative unit, the telescopic structure of the first cooperative unit is arranged adjacent to the telescopic structure of the second cooperative unit along the axial direction of the telescopic structure, the axial directions of the two telescopic structures are consi