A Novel Layer Jamming Mechanism With Tunable Stiffness Capability for Minimally Invasive Surgery

TLDR

The layer jamming mechanism uses friction between thin layers controlled by confining pressure, and its hollow, compact, lightweight design makes it suitable for minimally invasive surgery requiring adjustable stiffness. The study introduces a novel layer‑jamming mechanism for variable stiffness and details its concept, mathematical model, and a tubular snake‑like manipulator prototype. The mechanism relies on friction between layers of thin material, with confining pressure tuning stiffness, and its performance—including stiffness and yield strength—is analyzed theoretically and experimentally in a tubular snake‑like prototype.

Abstract

This paper presents a novel “layer jamming” mechanism that can achieve variable stiffness. The layer jamming mechanism exploits the friction present between layers of thin material, which can be controlled by a confining pressure. Due to the mechanism's hollow geometry, compact size, and light weight, it is well suited for various minimally invasive surgery applications, where stiffness change is required. This paper describes the concept, the mathematical model, and a tubular snake-like manipulator prototype. Various characteristics of layer jamming, such as stiffness and yield strength, are studied both theoretically and experimentally.