Stereo Vision-Based Control of Continuum Robots and Hyper-Redundant Robots for Endoscopy

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Medical Technology
• Control Systems

Background:

• Traditional control of continuum robots (CRs) and hyper-redundant robots (HRRs) requires large, expensive consoles.
• Simplifying these systems without sacrificing functionality is a key challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-cost, real-time control system for a 7-DoF CR/HRR.
• To simplify physician input for CR/HRR systems.

Main Methods:

• A handheld, wireless controller with two passive optical markers was designed.
• Direct control of 5 Degrees of Freedom (DoF) was implemented.
• Null-space projection for length minimization and roll-compensation for image alignment were used for the remaining 2 DoF.

Main Results:

• Effective real-time control of a 7-DoF CR/HRR was achieved with only two markers.
• Redundancy was managed, robot length minimized, and horizontal imaging preserved.
• The system demonstrated successful control using a simplified input device.

Conclusions:

• A compact, two-marker input device for CR/HRR control was developed.
• A null-space-based length minimization strategy was presented.
• A roll-compensation method for endoscopic imaging was successfully implemented.