U-Joint CAAMS: Experimental Evaluation of a Universal-Joint Continuum Manipulator for Aerial Manipulation

arXiv:2607.03321v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Continuum manipulators mounted on multi-rotor UAVs enable compliant aerial manipulation, but payloads and propeller downwash amplify out-of-plane bending and twisting that degrade end-effector pose accuracy. To address this problem, we present a universal-joint-based continuum manipulator designed to improve resistance to out-of-plane deformation during aerial manipulation. The proposed design uses a tubular backbone with spring-reinforced universa...