A New System for Shape and Contact Detection of Continuum Robots

In nature, many organisms like octopuses with their flexible tentacles or elephants with their trunks, exhibit remarkable dexterity. Inspired by these natural structures, researchers aim to develop highly flexible continuum robots that offer robustness and safety. Ideally, a continuum robot is characterized by many degrees of freedom (DOFs) and the number of joints, more than needed for most tasks. These characteristics allow them to adjust and modify their shape dynamically, enabling them to avoid obstacles and unexpected situations. However, their complex movements make it difficult to characterize their shape and motion.