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CubiX: Portable Wire-Driven Parallel Robot Connecting to and Utilizing the Environment

Shintaro Inoue, Kento Kawaharazuka, Temma Suzuki, Sota Yuzaki, Kei Okada, Masayuki Inaba

TL;DR

CubiX addresses the workspace limitation of traditional cable-driven parallel robots by enabling direct connection to environmental anchors via multiple windable wires. The system combines a cube-shaped body with 8 wire modules, a flying-anchor deployment method, and a tension-based pose controller that maps desired wrenches to wire tensions through a Jacobian and a quadratic program, with gravity compensation and current control. Key contributions include hardware design for 8-wire actuation, a robust wire deployment strategy using AprilTag-based sensing, and validation through 8-wire spatial movement, outdoor operation, and autonomous wire deployment. The results demonstrate a portable, environment-integrated CDPR capable of forming parallel wire-driven structures in varied locations, with future directions toward optimized wire layouts and integrated tooling for expanded capabilities.

Abstract

A wire-driven parallel robot is a type of robotic system where multiple wires are used to control the movement of a end-effector. The wires are attached to the end-effector and anchored to fixed points on external structures. This configuration allows for the separation of actuators and end-effectors, enabling lightweight and simplified movable parts in the robot. However, its range of motion remains confined within the space formed by the wires, limiting the wire-driven capability to only within the pre-designed operational range. Here, in this study, we develop a wire-driven robot, CubiX, capable of connecting to and utilizing the environment. CubiX connects itself to the environment using up to 8 wires and drives itself by winding these wires. By integrating actuators for winding the wires into CubiX, a portable wire-driven parallel robot is realized without limitations on its workspace. Consequently, the robot can form parallel wire-driven structures by connecting wires to the environment at any operational location.

CubiX: Portable Wire-Driven Parallel Robot Connecting to and Utilizing the Environment

TL;DR

CubiX addresses the workspace limitation of traditional cable-driven parallel robots by enabling direct connection to environmental anchors via multiple windable wires. The system combines a cube-shaped body with 8 wire modules, a flying-anchor deployment method, and a tension-based pose controller that maps desired wrenches to wire tensions through a Jacobian and a quadratic program, with gravity compensation and current control. Key contributions include hardware design for 8-wire actuation, a robust wire deployment strategy using AprilTag-based sensing, and validation through 8-wire spatial movement, outdoor operation, and autonomous wire deployment. The results demonstrate a portable, environment-integrated CDPR capable of forming parallel wire-driven structures in varied locations, with future directions toward optimized wire layouts and integrated tooling for expanded capabilities.

Abstract

A wire-driven parallel robot is a type of robotic system where multiple wires are used to control the movement of a end-effector. The wires are attached to the end-effector and anchored to fixed points on external structures. This configuration allows for the separation of actuators and end-effectors, enabling lightweight and simplified movable parts in the robot. However, its range of motion remains confined within the space formed by the wires, limiting the wire-driven capability to only within the pre-designed operational range. Here, in this study, we develop a wire-driven robot, CubiX, capable of connecting to and utilizing the environment. CubiX connects itself to the environment using up to 8 wires and drives itself by winding these wires. By integrating actuators for winding the wires into CubiX, a portable wire-driven parallel robot is realized without limitations on its workspace. Consequently, the robot can form parallel wire-driven structures by connecting wires to the environment at any operational location.
Paper Structure (14 sections, 3 equations, 12 figures, 2 tables)

This paper contains 14 sections, 3 equations, 12 figures, 2 tables.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Design of CubiX
  3. Design of the Overall Structure
  4. Design of the Wire Module
  5. Electrical Configuration
  6. Flying Anchor to Connect Wires to Environment
  7. Controller of CubiX
  8. Pose Control of Wire-driven Floating Link
  9. Wire Deployment with Flying Anchor
  10. Experiments
  11. Spatial Movement Driven by 8 Wires
  12. Outdoor Experiment
  13. Wire Deployment by Flying Anchors
  14. Conclusion

Figures (12)

  • Figure 1: The overview of CubiX connecting to and utilizing the environment.
  • Figure 2: The hardware structure of CubiX. It has 8 wire modules, and its cube-shaped structure consists of 6 frame plates. It is also equipped with devices such as a PC, battery, and camera necessary for operation.
  • Figure 3: The overall structure of the wire module. It consists of 3 elements, the wire winding winch, the wire restraining pulley, and the wire relay unit.
  • Figure 4: The overall structure of the flying anchor. The drone with the anchor circles around a pillar, looping the wire around it, and then CubiX applies tension to anchor the wire to the environment.
  • Figure 5: Pose control loop to move the pose of CubiX to the target pose. Calculate the tension required for each wire to follow the spline path.
  • ...and 7 more figures