Intuitive Interfaces for Teleoperation of Continuum Robots

Abstract

This paper presents a novel teleoperation interface for continuous backbone continuum robots. Previous teleoperation interface methods for continuum robots were less intuitive due to a degree-of-freedom mismatch, using non-continuum interface input devices with fewer degrees-of-freedom than the robot that was being operated. The approach introduced in this paper uses a graphical 3D model on screen to directly operate the continuum robot for an easier user experience. This paper details the development of both the model and software. The teleoperation interface was developed specifically for a nine degree-of-freedom pneumatically driven extensible continuum robot, but it can easily be extended to any continuum robot with an arbitrary number of section due to its modular design. Experiments using the aforementioned system on two different continuum robots are reported and areas for future work and improvement are detailed.