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A singularity-robust and sensorless-calibrated continuum robot system for dexterous laryngeal surgery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2025

Sihan Zhao Open the ORCID record for Sihan Zhao [Opens in a new window] ,
Rui Tao ,
Yunkai Ma ,
Yichen Fu ,
Jun Hou ,
Junfeng Fan ,
Fengshui Jing  and
Gui-Bin Bian
Sihan Zhao
Affiliation:
School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Beijing, China Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
Rui Tao
Affiliation:
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
Yunkai Ma*
Affiliation:
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
Yichen Fu
Affiliation:
School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Beijing, China Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
Jun Hou
Affiliation:
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
Junfeng Fan
Affiliation:
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
Fengshui Jing
Affiliation:
School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19(A) Yuquan Road, Beijing, China Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
Gui-Bin Bian
Affiliation:
Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95 Zhongguancun East Road, Beijing, China
*
Corresponding author: Yunkai Ma; Email: yunkai.ma@ia.ac.cn
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Abstract

A major challenge in laryngeal surgery today is the limited flexibility of surgical operations. To address the limitation, this paper proposes a novel continuum robot (CR) system with enhanced dexterity, a robust inverse kinematics algorithm, and a sensorless automatic calibration method. The proposed CR possesses 4 flexible degrees of freedom, allowing for control based on angles and end-effector position. Compared with traditional Jacobian-based methods, the proposed inverse kinematics algorithm effectively addresses the singularity issue arising from curvature hypotheses. Mitigating the singularity is crucial for ensuring continuous and stable motion planning. The calibration method enables automatic initialization without additional sensors, a capability not previously reported in the literature. The efficient and automatic calibration reduces preparation time for laryngeal surgery. Compared to the manual calibration, which requires approximately 210 s, the proposed method reduces the calibration time by 160 s, thereby achieving a 76.19 % improvement in efficiency. Taking the damped least squares method as the baseline, the inverse kinematics algorithm reduces the maximum solving error from 7.36 mm to just 0.05 mm. Furthermore, the CR is capable of dexterous motion within narrow and curved cavities. The phantom and animal experiment results demonstrate the practicality and reliability of the proposed CR system in laryngeal surgery.

Keywords

continuum robotinverse kinematicsautomatic calibrationlaryngeal surgery

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Type
Research Article
Information
Robotica , First View , pp. 1 - 22
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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