Motion control of a bio-inspired wire-driven multi-backbone continuum minimally invasive surgical manipulator

Abstract

Due to the reduced trauma and hospitalization time, robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has attracted intense research interest from both engineering and medical communities. This paper hence presents a newly designed bio-inspired wire-driven multi-backbone continuum MIS manipulator. The manipulator consists of two segments, and each segment is composed of a super-elastic backbone and a series of thin disks. Two groups of wires are implemented to actuate each segment by controlling the upward/downward bending and the leftward/rightward bending. Therefore, the system possesses four controllable bending degrees-of-freedom (DoFs) in total, which enhances its flexibility and dexterity significantly. Forward and inverse kinematics of the manipulator is derived, and the corresponding motion control system is developed. To evaluate the performance of the proposed prototype, workspace of the system is firstly provided, then a benchmark trajectory tracking experiment is carried out. Priorities and potential limitations of the design are discussed, including the flexibility, payload capability, and manipulability. And the presented manipulator offers a promising alternative for MIS in future.