Continuum Robots: An Overview

Herein, recent advances, current limitations, and open challenges in the design, modeling, and control of continuum robots are discussed. Thanks to their lean bodies, these robots achieve a long reach through narrow and tortuous environments, enabling currently unachievable tasks for medical, industrial, and service applications. The recent surge in research on these robots leads to significant advances in design, modeling, and control methods. Herein, these developments with a comprehensive review of existing continuum robots and emerging technologies are examined. Then, modeling and control approaches are compared, and navigation strategies exclusive to continuum robots, such as follow the leader, coiling,…

• NI
  National Institute for Health and Care Research

  Award: 15/11/16
• OH
  Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
• MR
  Medical Research Council

  Awards: MC_UU_00004/09, MC_UU_00004/07
• HS
  Health Services and Delivery Research Programme

  Award: 15/11/16
• NI
  National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration West