A design methodology of a flexible robotic arm vision system for OTOROB

Telemedicine is a new and promising application in the field of medical science. Medical consulting and remote medical procedures or examinations became more effective with the development of interactive audiovisual systems and remote mobile robotic platforms. Tele-presence requires real time video transmission. Fixed mounting of video device on mobile robotic platform limits the video projection at certain view angle, thus restricting the remote doctor in obtaining the fine and accurate visual information of the patient. To circumvent the problem, this paper presents a flexible robotic arm with vision system for OTOROB (Orthopedic Robot). A four degree of freedom (DOF) robotic arm with extending and retracting feature enables the remote doctor to articulate the attached video device on robotic arm to target area on patient. The working envelope of the robotic arm increased with the linear motion feature. This combined with yaw and pitch at the end effectors improves the visual projection at the intended target point.