Simulating Continuum Joints

I am currently working on a project involving a robot with continuum joints (not pin joints, but joints that move with constant curvature like an elephant trunk or snake). I wanted to know if it was possible to simulate a robot in Gazebo that had such joints. My initial searches are making me think that it is not possible; however, I would love to be proved wrong in this regard.

Asked by vsherrod on 2016-10-07 16:11:40 UTC

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Answers

All joints in Gazebo are "continuous" by default. The quotation marks are there because the joints actually have really really large positive and negative limits.

See the SDF documentation for joint limits here.

Asked by chapulina on 2016-10-09 17:39:23 UTC

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Thanks for you quick answer. Sorry, I should have been more clear. What I meant by "continuum joints" is a joint with constant curvature as opposed to being around a single point (like a pin joint) not whether a joint could be continuous. I have edited the question to help clear up this confusion.

Asked by vsherrod on 2016-10-10 12:37:50 UTC

it's definitely possible, but it sounds really hard. How do they work in real life? If you mimic the underlying mechanics it might work. Otherwise, you'd probably just make a bunch of normal joints and write a plugin to control th

Asked by Peter Mitrano on 2016-10-11 17:43:13 UTC