Recently, the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reconstructed the spatial three-dimensional shape of the continuum robot based on the geometric motion screw, and obtained information such as curvature and torsion of the continuum robot. Mutually
Continuum robots and soft robots have the characteristics of high dexterity and compliance, and show great application potential in the medical field. However, the lack of shape feedback of continuum robots restricts their further applications. The shape perception of the continuum robot is the premise of realizing closed-loop control, which will help to improve the control accuracy of the robot and promote the intelligent application of the continuum robot.
This study proposes a novel shape perception method for continuum robots. By adding passive tendons inside the continuum robot, the shape change of the continuum robot is converted into displacement information of the passive tendons, and the displacement of the passive tendons is obtained in real time through the camera. Then, the spatial three-dimensional shape of the continuum robot is reconstructed based on the geometric motion screw. This method can not only obtain information such as curvature and torsion of the continuum robot, but also perceive the torsional deformation of the continuum robot, which has the advantages of low cost and high reliability compared with other methods.
