Robotic Manipulation of a Rotating Chain with Bottom End Fixed

[Submitted on 23 Jun 2025 (v1), last revised 11 Jul 2025 (this version, v2)]

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Abstract:This paper studies the problem of using a robot arm to manipulate a uniformly rotating chain with its bottom end fixed. Existing studies have investigated ideal rotational shapes for practical applications, yet they do not discuss how these shapes can be consistently achieved through manipulation planning. Our work presents a manipulation strategy for stable and consistent shape transitions. We find that the configuration space of such a chain is homeomorphic to a three-dimensional cube. Using this property, we suggest a strategy to manipulate the chain into different configurations, specifically from one rotation mode to another, while taking stability and feasibility into consideration. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our strategy in physical experiments by successfully transitioning from rest to the first two rotation modes. The concepts explored in our work have critical applications in ensuring safety and efficiency of drill string and yarn spinning operations.