A flexible vacuum assembly fixture including a base; at least one arm coupled to the base; a suction cup fitting coupled to the at least one arm distal from the base; a vacuum generator fluidly coupled to the suction cup fitting via a vacuum tube; and a grounding feature configured to electrically ground the suction cup fitting, the at least one arm, and the base.

A flexible vacuum assembly fixture including a base; at least one arm coupled to the base; a suction cup fitting coupled to the at least one arm distal from the base; a vacuum generator fluidly coupled to the suction cup fitting via a vacuum tube; and a grounding feature configured to electrically ground the suction cup fitting, the at least one arm, and the base.

Provided is a soft growing robot which may be precisely controlled by reducing the effect of a tail tension applied to its inner periphery, the soft growing robot including: a case having one open side; and a vine including an outer periphery having one end fixed to one side surface of the case, the inner periphery disposed inside the outer periphery while being spaced apart from the outer periphery and extended into the case, a tip connecting the other end of the outer periphery and one end of the inner periphery to each other, and a tip space formed by the outer periphery, the tip and the inner periphery, and a tip space formed by the outer periphery, the tip and the inner periphery, wherein a diameter of the tip is smaller than a diameter of the outer periphery, thereby forming a bent portion between the tip and the outer periphery.

For bending a manipulator without excessive increase in a tensile force acting on a driving power transmitting member, a manipulator is provided with: an end effector; a driving unit; a guide member to which the end effector is attached at one end thereof and the driving unit is attached at the other end thereof; and a driving power transmitting members that transmit the driving power from the driving unit to the end effector, wherein the guide member includes a guide tube that has lumens, and an outer sheath that has a greater rigidity than the guide tube and that covers an outer circumference of the guide tube, and one end of the outer sheath is movable in a longitudinal direction with respect to the end effector or the driving unit.

For bending a manipulator without excessive increase in a tensile force acting on a driving power transmitting member, a manipulator is provided with: an end effector; a driving unit; a guide member to which the end effector is attached at one end thereof and the driving unit is attached at the other end thereof; and a driving power transmitting members that transmit the driving power from the driving unit to the end effector, wherein the guide member includes a guide tube that has lumens, and an outer sheath that has a greater rigidity than the guide tube and that covers an outer circumference of the guide tube, and one end of the outer sheath is movable in a longitudinal direction with respect to the end effector or the driving unit.

A medical manipulator including: a rotating joint that rotates an end effector disposed at a distal end thereof about a first axis; a flexing joint that is disposed on a base-end side of the rotating joint and that pivots the end effector about a second axis that intersects the first axis; a drive portion that generates a rotational driving force; a motive-power transmitting member that transmits the rotational driving force generated by the drive portion to the rotating joint by passing through the flexing joint; and a speed-reduction portion that transmits the rotational driving force transmitted thereto by the motive-power transmitting member to the end effector after performing speed-reduction.

A medical manipulator including: a rotating joint that rotates an end effector disposed at a distal end thereof about a first axis; a flexing joint that is disposed on a base-end side of the rotating joint and that pivots the end effector about a second axis that intersects the first axis; a drive portion that generates a rotational driving force; a motive-power transmitting member that transmits the rotational driving force generated by the drive portion to the rotating joint by passing through the flexing joint; and a speed-reduction portion that transmits the rotational driving force transmitted thereto by the motive-power transmitting member to the end effector after performing speed-reduction.

A video probe is disclosed herein that includes an elongated probe including an articulating portion, and a controller functionally coupled with the elongated probe. The articulating portion may include at least two interconnected links and each link may include opposing electromagnetic coils disposed within the link. The controller may be configured to stimulate the opposing electromagnetic coils to attract/repulse corresponding opposing electromagnetic coils of an adjoining link thereby causing the link to pivot about the axis of the single-axis joint.

A video probe is disclosed herein that includes an elongated probe including an articulating portion, and a controller functionally coupled with the elongated probe. The articulating portion may include at least two interconnected links and each link may include opposing electromagnetic coils disposed within the link. The controller may be configured to stimulate the opposing electromagnetic coils to attract/repulse corresponding opposing electromagnetic coils of an adjoining link thereby causing the link to pivot about the axis of the single-axis joint.

A method includes receiving position information and force information, providing control commands to a steering mechanism of a continuum manipulator based on the position information and the force information, updating a control matrix based on the position information and the provided control commands, and providing updated control commands to the steering mechanism based on the updated control matrix. A continuum manipulator includes a body, a steering mechanism configured to steer the body, sensors, and a controller. The sensors include a position sensor to detect a position of the body and a force sensor to detect a force against the body. The controller is configured to receive position information from the position sensor and force information from the force sensor, provide control commands to the steering mechanism based on the position information and the force information, and update a control matrix based on the position information and the provided control commands.