Study on a Pneumatic Inspection Micro Robot

Abstract

A bionic active inchworm endoscopy micro robot was designed which was driven by a flexible 3-DOF (Degree of Freedom) pneumatic artificial actuator for inspection in small industrial pipes or in human cavities online. The driving and the resistance forces on the robot were analyzed and the kinemics equation was set up according to small pipe environment with working fluid. Applying PWM (Pulse Width Modulation: PWM) techniques, the robot can move continuously by computer control. The experiment results prove the robot has good performances and has the capability of doing inspecting work online.