On the Benefits of Hysteresis in Tendon Driven Continuum Robots
David Hanley, Farshid Alambeigi, Mohsen Khadem
Abstract
Hysteresis in the tendons driving continuum robots is frequently regarded as a nuisance and a problem that is best avoided. Some prior work seeks to ameliorate the effects of hysteresis through the selection of materials. Others propose models of hysteresis to compensate for their effects. In this work, we present an empirically validated model of hysteresis in tendon-driven continuum robots. We demonstrate that hysteresis contributes to the stability of these robots by mitigating undesirable tensions in robot's backbone. As a result, a model-based approach to hysteresis can be used not just for compensation of a nuisance, but to enhance the utility of continuum robots in safety critical applications such as medical robots.
BibTeX
@inproceedings{icra2025_onthebenefitsofh,
title = {On the Benefits of Hysteresis in Tendon Driven Continuum Robots},
author = {David Hanley and Farshid Alambeigi and Mohsen Khadem},
booktitle = {ICRA 2025},
year = {2025}
}