Yeoun-Jae Kim, Jueun Choi, Jaesoon Choi, and Youngjin Moon*
International Journal of Control, Automation, and Systems, vol. 20, no. 10, pp.3361-3371, 2022

Abstract : Total unit number, unit length, and maximum bending angle of units are major design parameters in a discrete continuum robot. In this paper, a discrete continuum robot design methodology is suggested to determine the major design parameters for the transoral robotic surgery using a genetic algorithm (GA) based parameter optimization. If the transoral passage of a patient is reconstructed, a transoral passage-optimized discrete continuum robot can be designed using the proposed design methodology. In the proposed design methodology, a unit with a ball-socket joint is chosen to satisfy the clinical design requirements of a transoral continuum robot; moreover, the kinematics of the section in the discrete continuum robot is analyzed. Using these results, a two-section tendondriven discrete continuum robot is designed to follow a reference transoral passage with minimal control effort by parametric optimization using a GA. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is shown through an example using path trackability simulation and validation tests were performed to compare the design assumptions and real situations.

Keyword : Continuum robot, design optimization, genetic algorithm, master-slave robotic system, tendon-driven actuation, transoral passage, transoral surgery.