The First Interlaced Continuum Robot, Devised to Intrinsically Follow the Leader.
The First Interlaced Continuum Robot, Devised to Intrinsically Follow the Leader.
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DOI：
10.1371/journal.pone.0150278
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发表时间：
2016
期刊：
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Sinibaldi E
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kang B;Kojcev R;Sinibaldi E
灵活的探头可以安全地部署到难以到达的目标，同时避免关键结构，在几个高影响力的应用领域具有战略意义，包括生物医学领域和整个检查领域。这些工具的一个关键问题是在所寻求的轨迹上部署整个工具主体而不仅仅是其尖端的最佳方法。实现这种部署的探针被认为是跟随引导器（或实现跟随引导器部署），因为其主体部分跟随其尖端跟踪的轨迹。由于缺乏外部支持，通过空腔的跟随领导者部署是复杂的。目前，对于本质上能够跟随领导者的探测器没有明确的实现，即，不依赖外部支持，已经实现。在本文中，我们提出了一个全新的设备，即第一个交错的连续体机器人，旨在本质上遵循的领导者。我们开发的交错配置追求一个概念性的方法，而不考虑应用程序的具体限制，并假设两个灵活的工具与可控的刚度。我们质疑通过在设计过程中利用探针对称性来解决前面提到的部署问题的可能性。本研究探讨了新型交错探头的整个开发过程：基于模型的概念设计，详细设计和原型设计，以及初步的实验评估。我们的探针可以建立一个曲率半径为探针直径两倍的轨道，这使其能够超越旨在跟随领导者部署的最先进工具。尽管固有的局限性，与其原始的字符，本研究提供了一个原型的方法来设计交错连续系统，并演示了第一交错连续探测器，这是本质上能够遵循的领导者。
Flexible probes that are safely deployed to hard-to-reach targets while avoiding critical structures are strategic in several high-impact application fields, including the biomedical sector and the sector of inspections at large. A critical problem for these tools is the best approach for deploying an entire tool body, not only its tip, on a sought trajectory. A probe that achieves this deployment is considered to follow the leader (or to achieve follow-the-leader deployment) because its body sections follow the track traced by its tip. Follow-the-leader deployment through cavities is complicated due to a lack of external supports. Currently, no definitive implementation for a probe that is intrinsically able to follow the leader, i.e., without relying on external supports, has been achieved. In this paper, we present a completely new device, namely the first interlaced continuum robot, devised to intrinsically follow the leader. We developed the interlaced configuration by pursuing a conceptual approach irrespective of application-specific constraints and assuming two flexible tools with controllable stiffness. We questioned the possibility of solving the previously mentioned deployment problem by harnessing probe symmetry during the design process. This study examines the entire development of the novel interlaced probe: model-based conceptual design, detailed design and prototyping, and preliminary experimental assessment. Our probe can build a track with a radius of curvature that is as small as twice the probe diameter, which enables it to outperform state-of-the-art tools that are aimed at follow-the-leader deployment. Despite the limitations that are inherently associated with its original character, this study provides a prototypical approach to the design of interlaced continuum systems and demonstrates the first interlaced continuum probe, which is intrinsically able to follow the leader.