Design of a planar hyper-redundant lockable mechanism for shape morphing using a centralized actuation method

•Under-actuated S-PMs using a centralized actuation method are presented.•The proposed manipulator could reconfigure different topologies and mobility.•Redundant flexible and rigid limbs could provide a better load-carrying ability.•A shape parameter method and the kinematics are presented for shape control.•A morphing airfoil wing case-study demonstrates the design method we proposed.