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Review
. 2022 Jul 25:2022:9754697.
doi: 10.34133/2022/9754697. eCollection 2022.

A Survey on Design, Actuation, Modeling, and Control of Continuum Robot

Jingyu Zhang  1   2 , Qin Fang  1   2 , Pingyu Xiang  1   2 , Danying Sun  1   2 , Yanan Xue  1   2   3 , Rui Jin  1   2 , Ke Qiu  1   2 , Rong Xiong  1   2 , Yue Wang  1   2 , Haojian Lu  1   2
Affiliations
Review

A Survey on Design, Actuation, Modeling, and Control of Continuum Robot

Jingyu Zhang et al. Cyborg Bionic Syst. .

Abstract

In this paper, we describe the advances in the design, actuation, modeling, and control field of continuum robots. After decades of pioneering research, many innovative structural design and actuation methods have arisen. Untethered magnetic robots are a good example; its external actuation characteristic allows for miniaturization, and they have gotten a lot of interest from academics. Furthermore, continuum robots with proprioceptive abilities are also studied. In modeling, modeling approaches based on continuum mechanics and geometric shaping hypothesis have made significant progress after years of research. Geometric exact continuum mechanics yields apparent computing efficiency via discrete modeling when combined with numerical analytic methods such that many effective model-based control methods have been realized. In the control, closed-loop and hybrid control methods offer great accuracy and resilience of motion control when combined with sensor feedback information. On the other hand, the advancement of machine learning has made modeling and control of continuum robots easier. The data-driven modeling technique simplifies modeling and improves anti-interference and generalization abilities. This paper discusses the current development and challenges of continuum robots in the above fields and provides prospects for the future.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Diagram of force analysis of continuous media [83].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mapping relationship of geometric model.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Parameter description of the configuration space continuum robot. (a) Arc parameter description of one section of continuum robots. (b) Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) parameter description of one section of continuum robots.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Several control strategies for continuum robots. (a) Schematic diagram of learning-based control strategy. (b) Schematic diagram of hybrid control strategy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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