9 accepted papers
This letter discusses a novel static control approach applied to magnetic soft continuum robot (MSCR). Our aim is to demonstrate the control of a multi-magnet soft continuum robot (SCR) in 3D. The proposed controller, based on a simplified yet accurate model of the robot, has a high update rate and
Continuum robots suffer large deflections due to internal and external forces. Accurate modeling of their passive compliance is necessary for accurate environmental interaction, especially in scenarios where direct force sensing is not practical. This paper focuses on deriving analytic formulations…
This paper presents a deep-learning model for deformable registration of ultrasound images at online rates, which we call U-RAFT. As its name suggests, U-RAFT is based on RAFT, a convolutional neural network for estimating optical flow. U-RAFT, however, can be trained in an unsupervised manner and c…
Collaborative robots should ideally use low torque actuators for passive safety reasons. However, some applications require these collaborative robots to reach deep into confined spaces while assisting a human operator in physically demanding tasks. In this paper, we consider the use of in-situ coll…
Choosing a kinematic model for a continuum robot typically involves making a tradeoff between accuracy and computational complexity. One common modeling approach is to use the Cosserat rod equations, which have been shown to be accurate for many types of continuum robots. This approach, however, sti…
In the future, human-robot interaction will include collaboration in close-quarters where the environment geometry is partially unknown. As a means for enabling such interaction, this paper presents a multi-modal sensor array capable of contact detection and localization, force sensing, proximity se…
Current multi-backbone continuum robots are limited to a constant cross-sectional diameter. This paper proposes a design alternative that overcomes this limitation. The ability to change the diameter of a continuum robot expands the repertoire of kinematic redundancy and enables kinematic parameter…
Parallel continuum robots consist of a parallel arrangement of flexible legs and are dexterous, compliant, and easily miniaturized for minimally invasive surgery. By design, parallel continuum robots exhibit large, nonlinear deformations in their legs to achieve multi-DOF end effector articulation,…
In this letter, we present the design, kinematic analysis, model validation, and teleoperation of a miniature eight-degree-of-freedom (8-DOF) parallel continuum manipulator with a cable-driven grasper. Our motivation is to provide increased dexterity and stability in confined-space surgical applicat