A new paper from the STORM Lab UK has just been presented at IEEE ICRA 2020, it describes a method for improving the accuracy of kinematic models of continuum manipulators through the incorporation of orientation sensor feedback. Achieved through the use of a “disturbance wrench”, which is used to compensate for unmodeled effects, and is continuously estimated based on orientation sensor feedback as the robot moves through its workspace.

It is expected that this approach could provide similar benefits for a wide range of soft robotics applications, both in and outside of the medical field.

This paper is published in IEEE RAL. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/156331/