Shape Estimation of Soft Manipulator Using Stretchable Sensor
Open Access
- 21 April 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Thinking Skills and Creativity
- Vol. 2021, 9843894
- https://doi.org/10.34133/2021/9843894
Abstract
The soft robot manipulator is attracting attention in the surgical fields with its intrinsic softness, lightness in its weight, and safety toward the human organ. However, it cannot be used widely because of its difficulty of control. To control a soft robot manipulator accurately, shape sensing is essential. This paper presents a method of estimating the shape of a soft robot manipulator by using a skin-type stretchable sensor composed of a multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and silicone (p7670). The sensor can be easily fabricated and applied by simply attaching it to the surface of the soft manipulator. In its fabrication, MWCNT is sprayed on a teflon sheet, and liquid-state silicone is poured on it. After curing, we turn it over and cover it with another silicone layer. The sensor is fabricated with a sandwich structure to decrease the hysteresis of the sensor. After calibration and determining the relationship between the resistance of the sensor and the strain, three sensors are attached at 120 intervals. Using the obtained data, the curvature of the manipulator is calculated, and the entire shape is reconstructed. To validate its accuracy, the estimated shape is compared with the camera data. We experiment with three, six, and nine sensors attached, and the result of the error of shape estimation is compared. As a result, the minimum tip position error is approximately 8.9mm, which corresponded to 4.45 of the total length of the manipulator when using nine sensors.Keywords
Funding Information
- Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (2020R1A4A1018227)
This publication has 29 references indexed in Scilit:
- A bioinspired soft manipulator for minimally invasive surgeryBioinspiration & Biomimetics, 2015
- Large deflection shape sensing of a continuum manipulator for minimally-invasive surgeryPublished by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ,2015
- Flexible endoscopic robotMinimally Invasive Therapy & Allied Technologies, 2015
- Robotic natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (R-NOTES): Literature review and prototype systemMinimally Invasive Therapy & Allied Technologies, 2014
- Development of the SJTU Unfoldable Robotic System (SURS) for Single Port LaparoscopyIEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2014
- Simple and rapid micropatterning of conductive carbon composites and its application to elastic strain sensorsCarbon, 2014
- Embedded 3D Printing of Strain Sensors within Highly Stretchable ElastomersAdvanced Materials, 2014
- Highly Stretchable and Sensitive Strain Sensor Based on Silver Nanowire–Elastomer NanocompositeACS Nano, 2014
- Tunneling effect in a polymer/carbon nanotube nanocomposite strain sensorActa Materialia, 2008
- ASGE/SAGES Working Group on Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic SurgerySurgical Endoscopy, 2006