5 accepted papers
We describe a novel haptic interface designed specifically for the teleoperation of extensible continuum manipulators. The proposed device is based off of, and extends to the haptic domain, a kinematically similar input device for continuum manipulators called the MiniOct. This letter describes the
In this paper, we propose and investigate a new approach to modeling variable curvature continuum robot sections, based on Euler spirals. Euler spirals, also termed Clothoids, or Cornu spirals, are those curves in which the curvature increases linearly with their arc length. In this work, Euler spir…
We describe the design and physical realization of a novel branching continuum robot, aimed at inspection and cleaning operations in hard-to-reach environments at depths greater than human arm lengths. The design, based on a hybrid concentric-tube/tendon actuated continuum trunk core, features two p…
In this paper, we describe a novel nonlinear control strategy for the closed-loop control of extensible continuum robots. Previous attempts at controlling continuum robots have proved difficult due to the complexity of their system dynamics. Taking advantage of a previously developed dynamic model f…
We present a novel approach to teleoperation of continuum robots. In contrast to previous approaches restricted to three Degree-of-Freedom (DoF) joysticks, a six degree-of-freedom rigid-link manipulator is used as the input device. Mappings from the rigid-link arm to the continuum robot are synthesi