Design of a three-segment continuum robot for minimally invasive surgery

Continuum robot, as known as snake-like robot, usually does not include rigid links and has the ability to reach into a confined space by shaping itself into smooth curves. This paper presents the design of a three-segment continuum robot for minimally invasive surgery. The continuum robot employs a single super-elastic nitinol rod as the backbone and concentric disks assembled on the backbone for tendons attachment. Each segment is driven by four tendons and controlled by two linear actuators. The length of each segment is optimized based on the surgical workspace. A visual servo system is designed to assist the surgeon in operating the robot. Simulation experiment is conducted to demonstrate the proposed design.