Feasibility of Fiber Reinforcement Within Magnetically Actuated Soft Continuum Robots
Open Access
- 8 July 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Robotics and AI
Abstract
Soft continuum manipulators have the potential to replace traditional surgical catheters; offering greater dexterity with access to previously unfeasible locations for a wide range of interventions including neurological and cardiovascular. Magnetically actuated catheters are of particular interest due to their potential for miniaturization and remote control. Challenges around the operation of these catheters exist however, and one of these occurs when the angle between the actuating field and the local magnetization vector of the catheter exceeds 90 degrees. In this arrangement, deformation generated by the resultant magnetic moment acts to increase magnetic torque, leading to potential instability. This phenomenon can cause unpredictable responses to actuation, particularly for soft, flexible materials. When coupled with the inherent challenges of sensing and localization inside living tissue, this behavior represents a barrier to progress. In this feasibility study we propose and investigate the use of helical fiber reinforcement within magnetically actuated soft continuum manipulators. Using numerical simulation to explore the design space, we optimize fiber parameters to enhance the ratio of torsional to bending stiffness. Through bespoke fabrication of an optimized helix design we validate a single, prototypical two-segment, 40 mm X 6 mm continuum manipulator demonstrating a reduction of 67% in unwanted twisting under actuation.Funding Information
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EP/R045291/1)
- European Research Council (818045)
This publication has 21 references indexed in Scilit:
- Relative planar strain control and minimizing deformation work in elastomeric sheets via reinforcing fiber arraysComposites Science and Technology, 2017
- Magnetic control of continuum devicesThe International Journal of Robotics Research, 2017
- Automatic design of fiber-reinforced soft actuators for trajectory matchingProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016
- Shape-programmable magnetic soft matterProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2016
- Continuum Robots for Medical Applications: A SurveyIEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2015
- Modeling of Soft Fiber-Reinforced Bending ActuatorsIEEE Transactions on Robotics, 2015
- Mechanical Programming of Soft Actuators by Varying Fiber AngleSoft Robotics, 2015
- A Recipe for Soft Fluidic Elastomer RobotsSoft Robotics, 2015
- Continuously distributed magnetization profile for millimeter-scale elastomeric undulatory swimmingApplied Physics Letters, 2014
- Some Forms of the Strain Energy Function for RubberRubber Chemistry and Technology, 1993