Flexible Manipulators

Preface

Flexible robotic manipulators, consisting of mainly lightweight or large dimension robotic manipulators, exhibit many advantages over conventional rigid robotic manipulators. For example, flexible manipulators require less material and smaller actuators, consume less power and cost less, and provide fast motion, high force to mass ratio, more maneuverability and transportability,. Therefore, the use of flexible manipulators could lead to reduced energy consumption, increased productivity, and enhanced payload capacity. Over the past few decades, flexible manipulators have been deployed widely in many fields, such as space exploration, manufacturing automation, construction, mining, and hazardous operations.

However, the flexible nature ...