Force Perception Method for Multi-Segment Continuum Surgical Robots

Continuum robots have been widely used in minimally invasive surgery. However, there are still limitations when applied in narrow cavities, mainly due to the flexibility of the robot arm and the uncertainty of external force contact. In this paper, a force perception method is proposed for the continuum robots with multi-segment structure. The proposed method consists of a shape reconstruction method and a force-position coupling model, where the force-position coupling model considers the effects of multi-segment coupling, friction and external loads. The external load on the end-effector of the robot arm can be estimated by the drive force and the shape of the continuum arm. Simulations and experiments have been carried out to verify the proposed method. Results show that the force perception method is feasible under the normal bending angle of joints.