Few physical models of oral and laryngeal systems for human speech movement exist for computer or mechanical simulators. In particular, a robot tongue mechanism that fully reproduces the deformation motion of the human tongue is lacking. The human tongue is an aggregate of muscles that is devoid of a skeleton. It possesses only a small hyoid. A mechanism that can drive and control the deformation of a soft body, such as the human tongue, along multiple degrees of freedom has not been realized to date. To solve this problem, a wire-pulling mechanism with embedded soft tubes is proposed. Using this mechanism, a flexible tongue that can be deformed along multiple degrees of freedom without breaking the wire is achieved. A prototype planar mechanism with two degrees of freedom that is capable of contraction and bending was fabricated. A deformation model that assumes a piecewise constant curvature (PCC) was formulated. Deformation tests confirmed that the prototype is capable of contraction and bending movements that are consistent with those of the model. Variations in the error with respect to the hardness of the deformable part are discussed, and the limits of the deformation model based on the PCC assumption are presented.

中文翻译：

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带有嵌入式软管的机器人舌头可伸缩弯曲金属丝牵拉机构的变形模型和实验评估

对于计算机或机械模拟器，很少有用于人类语音运动的口腔和喉系统的物理模型。特别地，缺少完全再现人类舌头的变形运动的机器人舌头机构。人的舌头是没有骨骼的肌肉的集合体。它只有一个小的舌骨。迄今为止，尚未实现能够沿着多个自由度驱动和控制诸如人的舌头之类的柔软体的变形的机构。为了解决这个问题，提出了一种带有嵌入式软管的拉线机构。使用这种机制，可以获得可以沿多个自由度变形而不会折断导线的柔性舌片。制造了具有两个自由度的能够收缩和弯曲的原型平面机构。制定了假设分段恒定曲率（PCC）的变形模型。变形测试证实了原型能够进行与模型一致的收缩和弯曲运动。讨论了相对于可变形零件硬度的误差变化，并提出了基于PCC假设的变形模型的极限。