Mitigating lateral sensing blind spots: A dual-segment bronchoscopic robot with a bioinspired skin

Lateral force blind spots frequently trigger airway injuries during robotic bronchoscopy. Traditional sensing approaches lack fine spatial resolution, and single-segment robots suffer poor posture adjustment flexibility, worsening unmonitored tissue contact. We integrate a snake-scale-inspired 64-channel gradient piezoelectric film with a dual-segment manipulator to resolve lateral blind spots for secure bronchial navigation. The conformally wrapped sensor delivers fast (<10 ms), precise force detection (R² > 0.98, RMSE < 0.145 N, CV < 2%) and filters bending pseudo-forces. The dual-segment design enables coordinated proximal-distal motion to avoid overcontact in tortuous lumens. Phantom and ex vivo porcine lung tests confirm real-time force localization, 5.0 N safety alarms, and autonomous tuning to keep contact forces below 3.0 N. This synergistic robot-sensor design supplies a translatable safety control strategy for flexible surgical manipulators.