Hybrid Tendon and Ball Chain Continuum Robots for Enhanced Dexterity in Medical Interventions
arXiv:2401.17161 · doi:10.1109/IROS55552.2023.10341686
Abstract
A hybrid continuum robot design is introduced that combines a proximal tendon-actuated section with a distal telescoping section comprised of permanent-magnet spheres actuated using an external magnet. While, individually, each section can approach a point in its workspace from one or at most several orientations, the two-section combination possesses a dexterous workspace. The paper describes kinematic modeling of the hybrid design and provides a description of the dexterous workspace. We present experimental validation which shows that a simplified kinematic model produces tip position mean and maximum errors of 3% and 7% of total robot length, respectively.