Bio-Inspired Modular Relative Jacobian for Holistically Controlled Four-Arm Manipulators Using Opposite and Adjacent Dual-Arm Pairs

This work presents a holistic approach to control a robot with four arms as a single manipulator (with a single end-effector) using a modular relative Jacobian. The proposed method uses dual-arm pairing using opposite, adjacent, and counter-lateral pairs, in an attempt to interpret biological holistic movements through leg pairing in insects, as well as in large four-legged animals. A modular expression of the relative Jacobian for four arms is derived using an analogous principle of derivation used for the relative Jacobian for dual arms. The proposed approach pairs two arms as a single dual-arm manipulator and then pairs the two dual arms into a single four-arm manipulator. In this paper, the dual-arm pairing is performed to mimic the pacing and trotting movement of a large four-legged animal. A purely kinematic simulation in Gazebo is shown to demonstrate a holistically controlled four-arm manipulator.