On the kinematics of remotely-actuated continuum robots

Over the past several years, there has been a rapidly expanding interest in the study and construction of a new class of robot manipulators which utilize high degree of freedom, or continuous, backbone structures. In this paper, we consider and illustrate some basic properties of a class of “hyper-redundant” robots, known as “continuum” robots. We base our analysis around remotely-driven, tendon-actuated manipulators, such as the Rice/Clemson “Elephant´s Trunk”. We discuss such issues as the kinematic model, the relationship between tendon lengths and bending, and desirable design constraints for continuum robot mechanisms