REWW-ARM -- Remote Wire-Driven Mobile Robot: Design, Control, and Experimental Validation
🤖 AI Summary
To address the environmental limitations imposed by onboard electronics—such as in underwater or strong electromagnetic interference (EMI) settings—this work introduces the Remote Wire-Driven Mechanism (RWTM) system. It relocates all electronic components to a stationary base station and employs mechanically routed cables coupled with hydraulic transmission to actuate an electronics-free distal robot body. This approach pioneers the integration of hydraulic remote actuation with high-precision, base-mounted motor control, enabling real-time, state-estimation-based closed-loop motion control. Experiments demonstrate stable autonomous locomotion, 3D pose regulation, and dexterous manipulation both on land and underwater, significantly enhancing environmental robustness and operational safety. The core contribution is the first pure mechanical–remote-electronic architecture that simultaneously achieves real-time closed-loop performance and universal environmental adaptability, establishing a scalable new paradigm for robotic design in extreme environments.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
Electronic devices are essential for robots but limit their usable environments. To overcome this, methods excluding electronics from the operating environment while retaining advanced electronic control and actuation have been explored. These include the remote hydraulic drive of electronics-free mobile robots, which offer high reachability, and long wire-driven robot arms with motors consolidated at the base, which offer high environmental resistance. To combine the advantages of both, this study proposes a new system, "Remote Wire Drive." As a proof-of-concept, we designed and developed the Remote Wire-Driven robot "REWW-ARM", which consists of the following components: 1) a novel power transmission mechanism, the "Remote Wire Transmission Mechanism" (RWTM), the key technology of the Remote Wire Drive; 2) an electronics-free distal mobile robot driven by it; and 3) a motor-unit that generates power and provides electronic closed-loop control based on state estimation via the RWTM. In this study, we evaluated the mechanical and control performance of REWW-ARM through several experiments, demonstrating its capability for locomotion, posture control, and object manipulation both on land and underwater. This suggests the potential for applying the Remote Wire-Driven system to various types of robots, thereby expanding their operational range.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
Develops a remote wire-driven system for electronics-free robots
Combines high reachability and environmental resistance in mobile robots
Enables locomotion and manipulation in diverse environments like underwater
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Remote Wire Drive system for electronics-free robot operation
Novel Remote Wire Transmission Mechanism for power transfer
Motor-unit with closed-loop control via state estimation
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