Capstan-driven Continuum Surgical Robot: Design, Modeling, and Perception

2026-08-13

AI Summary

This study addresses the challenge of shape and contact force perception in compact spool-driven continuum surgical robots, where direct cable tension measurement is infeasible. To overcome this limitation, the authors propose a co-design framework integrating actuation and sensing. A compliant micro-deformation element embedded within the motor mount enables real-time cable tension feedback. This is combined with a multi-body stubby-beam dynamic model, spatial cable path modeling, and proximal multi-axis force/torque sensing to form a unified perception system. Notably, the approach requires no additional space on the spools, thereby circumventing a key bottleneck in conventional continuum robot sensing. Prototype experiments demonstrate that the system reliably and simultaneously estimates end-effector pose, contact force, and contact location in both single- and double-segment configurations.

Abstract

Shape and force sensing have long been critical bottlenecks in the development of compact capstan-driven continuum surgical robots, primarily due to the difficulty of obtaining cable tension information within the confined capstan assembly. To overcome these challenges, this paper presents an integrated design-modeling-sensing approach based on the concept of actuation-perception co-design. A compliant element is introduced into the motor mounting bracket of the drive system, enabling micro-deformation under the cable reaction force and thereby allowing real-time cable tension measurement without occupying the compact capstan space. To address the modeling complexity arising from unconventional joint configurations introduced by the spatial cable routing strategy, a parallel computation framework based on a multibody short-thick-beam model is proposed, which captures shear effects in short beam segments and synergistic multi-cable interactions while achieving real-time performance. Building on this framework, stable shape and force sensing is achieved by incorporating a proximal multi-axis force/torque sensor as an additional measurement anchor. Following this design-modeling-sensing framework, capstan-driven continuum surgical robots with single- and dual-segment configurations are developed. Experimental results validate the proposed framework in both single- and dual-segment continuum robots, demonstrating real-time tip pose estimation together with contact force and location perception. By enabling cable tension feedback without compromising the compact capstan architecture, the proposed framework makes integrated perception feasible for capstan-driven continuum surgical robots.

Problem

• continuum surgical robot
• capstan-driven
• shape sensing
• force sensing
• cable tension

Innovation

• capstan-driven continuum robot
• actuation-perception co-design
• cable tension sensing
• multibody short-thick-beam model
• real-time shape and force estimation