Title: Dual-segment continuum robot with rotational motion along the deformed backbone

Abstract

In continuum robotics, many researchers have designed novel actuators, new materials /mechanism, proprioception and modelling approaches to, while almost all the robots reach to a specific pose through deformation. One of the notable characteristics of continuum robot is working in narrow constrained environments, where rotation motion is generally required. As far as we know, there is no existing work presenting concurrent deformable and rotatable continuum robots. Through a novel design to decouple the actuation media and to provide line rotation, we have achieved simultaneous rotation about the deformable backbone. In detail, the deformation feature of continuum robot was well realized to direct a given tip position. Simultaneously, the entire soft robot body could also rotate along the deformed backbone with the shape unchanged. During modelling, two mapping, i.e., actuation between shape and shape between tip pose were individually established, and the control strategy for deformation and rotation contributes to accurate motion. Both simulation and experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the design. Two potential applications further show the proposed design and modelling could enhance the motion velocity and accuracy.