Towards Universal Continuum Manipulators
28th Conference of the international Society for Medical Innovation and Technology, 2016
Abstract
Continuum manipulators possess the ability to move alongnonlinear pathsand avoid obstacles in confined environments. A varietyof designs has beenproposed for medical applications [1]. The two most successful representatives are tubular and tendon-driven continuum robots. However,both designs have some design inherent restrictions: limited range ofcurvatures for tubular andpredefinedsegment lengthsfor tendon-driven robots[2]. Hence,appropriatea priori design parameterselectionand workspace optimizationsare required for each specificapplication.In this paper,we present a novel manipulator design combining the advantages of both robotdesigns: variable curvature and variable segment lengths.