Continuum robot

A continuum robot is a type of robot that is characterised by infinite degrees of freedom and
number of joints. These characteristics allow continuum manipulators to adjust and modify their
shape at any point along their length, granting them the possibility to work in confined spaces
and complex environments where standard rigid-link robots cannot operate.[1] In particular, we
can define a continuum robot as an actuatable structure whose constitutive material forms
curves with continuous tangent vectors.[2] This is a fundamental definition that allows to
distinguish between continuum robots and snake-arm robots or hyper-redundant manipulators:
the presence of rigid links and joints allows them to only approximately perform curves with
continuous tangent vectors.

The design of continuum robots is bioinspired, as the intent is to resemble biological trunks,
snakes and tentacles. Several concepts of continuum robots have been commercialised and can
be found in many different domains of application, ranging from the medical field to undersea
exploration.

Classification
Continuum robots can be categorised according to two main criteria: structure and actuation.[2]
Structure
The main characteristic of the design of continuum robots is the presence of a continuously
curving core structure, named backbone, whose shape can be actuated. The backbone must
also be compliant, meaning that the backbone yields smoothly to external loads.[3]

According to the design principles chosen for the continuum manipulator, we can distinguish
between:

single-backbone: these continuum

manipulators have one central elastic
backbone through which
actuation/transmission elements can
run.
multi-backbone: the structure of these
continuum robots has two or more
elastic elements (either rods or tubes)
parallel to each other and constrained
with one another in some way.[4]
 concentric-tube: the backbone is made
of concentric tubes that are free to
rotate and translate between each other,
depending on the actuation happening
at the base of the robot.[3]

Actuation
The actuation strategy of continuum manipulators can be distinguished between extrinsic or
intrinsic actuation, depending on where the actuation happens:

extrinsic actuation: the actuation

happens outside the main structure of
the robot and the forces are transmitted
via mechanical transmission; among
these techniques, there are
cable/tendon driven actuators and
multi-backbone strategies.
 intrinsic actuation: the actuation
mechanism operates within the
structure of the robot; these strategies
include pneumatic[5] or hydraulic
chambers[6] and the shape memory
effect.[7]

Advantages
The particular design of continuum robots offers several advantages with respect to rigid-link
robots. First of all, as already said, continuum robots can more easily operate in environments
that require a high level of dexterity, adaptability and flexibility. Moreover, the simplicity of their
structure makes continuum robots more prone to miniaturisation. The rise of continuum robots
has also paved the way for the development of soft continuum manipulators. These continuum
manipulators are made of highly compliant materials that are flexible and can adapt and deform
according to the surrounding environment. The "softness" of their material grants higher safety
in human-robot interactions.[8]

Disadvantages
The particular design of continuum robots also introduces many challenges. To properly and
safely use continuum robots, it is crucial to have an accurate force and shape sensing system.
Traditionally, this is done using cameras that are not suitable for some of the applications of
continuum robots (e.g. minimally invasive surgery), or using electromagnetic sensors that are
however disturbed by the presence of magnetic objects in the environment. To solve this issue,
in the last years fiber-Bragg-grating sensors have been proposed as a possible alternative and
have shown promising results.[9][10] It is also necessary to notice that while the mechanical
properties of rigid-link robots are fully understood, the comprehension of the behaviour and
properties of continuum robots is still subject of study and debate.[1] This poses new challenges
in developing accurate models and control algorithms for this kind of robots.

Modelling
Creating an accurate model that can predict the shape of a continuum robot allows to properly
control the robot's shape.[11] There are three main approaches to model continuum robots:

Cosserat rod theory: this approach is an

exact solution to the static of a
continuum robot, as it is not subject to
any assumption. It solves a set of
equilibrium equations between position,
orientation, internal force and torque of
the robot. This method requires to be
solved numerically and it is therefore
computationally expensive, due to its
high complexity.[11][12]
Constant curvature: this technique
assumes the backbone to be made of a
series of mutually tangent sections that
can be approximated as arcs with
constant curvature. This approach is
also known as piecewise constant-
curvature. This assumption can be
applied to the entire segment of the
backbone or to its subsegments.[13] This
model has shown promising results,
however it must be taken into account
that the segment/subsegments of the
backbone may not comply to the
constant curvature assumption and
therefore the model's behaviour may not
entirely reflect the behaviour of the
robot.
Rigid-link model: this approach is based
on the assumption that the continuum
robot can be divided in small segments
with rigid links. This is a strong
assumption, since if the number of
segments is too low, the model hardly
behaves like the continuum robot, while
increasing the number of segments
means increasing the number of
variables, and thus complexity. Despite
this limitation, rigid-link modelling
allows the use of the standard control
techniques that are well known for rigid-
 link robots. It has been proven that this
model can be coupled with shape and
force sensing to mitigate its inaccuracy
and can lead to promising results.[14]

Sensing
To develop accurate control algorithms, it is necessary to complement the presented modelling
techniques with real time shape sensing. The following options are currently available:

Electromagnetic (EM) sensing: shape is

reconstructed thanks to the mutual
induction between a magnetic field
generator and a magnetic field
sensor.[15] The most common external
EM tracking system is the commercially
available NDI Aurora: small sensors can
be placed on the robot and their position
is tracked in an external generated
magnetic field. The validity of this
method has been extensively
assessed,[16][17] however its
performance is hindered by the limited
workspace, whose dimension depends
on the magnetic field. Another
alternative is to embed the sensors
internally in the continuum robot,
combining magnetic sensors with Hall
effect sensors:[18][19] the magnetic field
is measured at the level of the Hall
effect sensors in order to estimate the
deflection of the robot. However, it has
been noticed that the higher the bending
of the manipulator, the higher is the
estimation error, due to crosstalk
between sensors and magnets.
Optical sensing: fiber Bragg grating
sensors incorporated in an optical fiber
can be embedded into the backbone of
the continuum robot to estimate its
shape; these sensors can only reflect a
small range of the input light spectrum
depending on their strain; therefore, by
measuring the strain on each sensor it is
possible to obtain the shape of the
robot. This type of sensor is however
expensive and is more prone to breaking
in case of excessive strain, and this can
 happen in robots that can perform high
deflections.

Control strategies
The control strategies can be distinguished in static and dynamic; the first one is based on the
steady-state assumption, while the latter also considers the dynamic behaviour of the
continuum robot. We can also differentiate between model-based controllers, that depend on a
model of the robot, and model-free, that learn the robot's behaviour from data.[20]

Model-based static controllers: they rely

on one of the modelling approaches
presented above; once the model is
defined, the kinematics must be inverted
to obtain the desired actuator or
configuration space variables. There are
several ways to do this, like differential
inverse kinematics, direct inversion or
optimization.
Model-free static controllers: these
approaches learn directly, via machine
learning techniques (e.g. regression
methods and neural networks), the
inverse kinematic or the direct kinematic
representation of the continuum robot
from collected data, and they are also
known as data-driven methods. Even
though these controllers present the
advantage of not having to establish an
accurate model of the continuum robot,
they perform worse than their model-
based counterpart.
Model-based dynamic controllers: they
need the formulation of the kinematic
model and an associated dynamic
formulation. As of 2021, they are in the
early stage, as they require high
computational power and high-
dimensional sensory feedback. With
improvements in computational power
and sensing capabilities they could be
crucial in industrial applications of
continuum robots, where time and cost
are also relevant along with accuracy.
Model-free dynamic controllers: they are
still a relatively unexplored approach.
Some works that propose machine
learning techniques to learn the dynamic
behaviour of continuum robots have
 been presented, but their performance is
limited by high training time and
instability of the machine learning
model.
Hybrid approaches, that combine model-free and model-based controllers, can also present a
valid alternative.

Applications
Continuum robots have been applied in many different fields.

Medical
Continuum robots have been widely applied in the medical field, in particular for minimally
invasive surgery.[1] For example, Ion by Intuitive is a robotic-assisted endoluminal platform for
minimally invasive peripheral lung biopsy, that allows to reach nodules located in peripheral
areas of the lungs that cannot be reached by standard instrumentations; this allows to perform
early-stage diagnoses of cancer.
Hazardous places
Continuum robots offer the possibility of completing tasks in hazardous and hostile
environments. For example, a quadruped robot with continuum limbs has been developed: it can
walk, crawl, trot and propel to whole arm grasping to negotiate difficult obstacles.[21]

Space
NASA has developed a continuum manipulator, named Tendril, that can extend into crevasses
and under thermal blankets to access areas that would be otherwise inaccessible with
conventional means.[22]

Subsea
The AMADEUS project developed a dextrous underwater robot for grasping and manipulation
tasks, while the FLAPS project created propulsion systems that replicate the mechanisms of fish
swimming.[23]

See also

Soft robotics
Biorobotics
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External links

Continuum robots - a state of the art (htt

ps://softroboticstoolkit.com/publication
s/continuum-robots-state-art)

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