A soft robotic tentacle robot arm for inspection system on manufacturing lines

With the emerging sector of new industrial age is afoot, innovations are made every day in order to cope with new technologies. Maintenance and regular repairs are key roles in keeping the industry as efficient as possible. With maintenance, safety is paramount in order to prevent accidents and further delays in production. In order to tackle issues for inspecting hazardous and tight spaces, this study utilizes soft robotics technology in aiming to achieve an efficient and cost-effective means to safely inspect tight and hazardous spaces. Soft Robotics is a field in robotics that specializes in materials that are flexible and elastic. Their movements mimic movements that are often found in nature. The soft robotic arm that will be accomplished in this study is a soft robotic tentacle arm with a mounted camera for inspection. This is especially good in reaching places that have limited spaces. The soft robotic arm will be actuated pneumatically and will have an electronic pneumatic microcontroller for its activation. A minicamera will also be mounted on the tip of the robotic arm for the inspection system. With the results and data gathered, it shows that this system can effectively maneuver using its electronic pneumatic controllers. The soft robot arm is also stable enough for the mini camera to be mounted on. © 2019 IEEE