# Suspended fabric robotic manipulation surfaces: modeling, design space, and multimodule extension

- Source: arXiv cs.RO
- Published: 2026-11-02T05:00:00.000Z
- RoboHot: https://robohot.news/en/items/ui3mftisqldp9b50hd3utsggv
- Original: https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.41982

## Summary

This paper proposes a separable catenary model for suspended-fabric Robotic Manipulation Surfaces (RMS) that can quickly compute the surface shape for given actuator heights, as well as the actuator heights needed to achieve a desired local slope. The closed-form inverse solution lets a simple PID controller position objects on the fabric surface, and the model relates fabric length, module span, and actuator stroke to the reachable workspace, yielding a lower bound on minimum fabric length and design charts.