A Comprehensive General Model of Tendon-Actuated Concentric Tube Robots with Multiple Tubes and Tendons

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Kheradmand, Pejman, Moradkhani, Behnam, Sankaranarayanan, Raghavasimhan, Yamamoto, Kent K., Zachem, Tanner J., Codd, Patrick J., Chitalia, Yash, Dupont, Pierre E.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Kheradmand, Pejman
Moradkhani, Behnam
Sankaranarayanan, Raghavasimhan
Yamamoto, Kent K.
Zachem, Tanner J.
Codd, Patrick J.
Chitalia, Yash
Dupont, Pierre E.
author_facet Kheradmand, Pejman
Moradkhani, Behnam
Sankaranarayanan, Raghavasimhan
Yamamoto, Kent K.
Zachem, Tanner J.
Codd, Patrick J.
Chitalia, Yash
Dupont, Pierre E.
contents Tendon-actuated concentric tube mechanisms combine the advantages of tendon-driven continuum robots and concentric tube robots while addressing their respective limitations. They overcome the restricted degrees of freedom often seen in tendon-driven designs, and mitigate issues such as snapping instability associated with concentric tube robots. However, a complete and general mechanical model for these systems remains an open problem. In this work, we propose a Cosserat rod-based framework for modeling the general case of $n$ concentric tubes, each actuated by $m_i$ tendons, where $i = \{1, \ldots, n\}$. The model allows each tube to twist and elongate while enforcing a shared centerline for bending. We validate the proposed framework through experiments with two-tube and three tube assemblies under various tendon routing configurations, achieving tip prediction errors $<4\%$ of the robot's total length. We further demonstrate the model's generality by applying it to existing robots in the field, where maximum tip deviations remain around $5\%$ of the total length. This model provides a foundation for accurate shape estimation and control of advanced tendon-actuated concentric tube robots.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_23954
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Comprehensive General Model of Tendon-Actuated Concentric Tube Robots with Multiple Tubes and Tendons
Kheradmand, Pejman
Moradkhani, Behnam
Sankaranarayanan, Raghavasimhan
Yamamoto, Kent K.
Zachem, Tanner J.
Codd, Patrick J.
Chitalia, Yash
Dupont, Pierre E.
Robotics
Tendon-actuated concentric tube mechanisms combine the advantages of tendon-driven continuum robots and concentric tube robots while addressing their respective limitations. They overcome the restricted degrees of freedom often seen in tendon-driven designs, and mitigate issues such as snapping instability associated with concentric tube robots. However, a complete and general mechanical model for these systems remains an open problem. In this work, we propose a Cosserat rod-based framework for modeling the general case of $n$ concentric tubes, each actuated by $m_i$ tendons, where $i = \{1, \ldots, n\}$. The model allows each tube to twist and elongate while enforcing a shared centerline for bending. We validate the proposed framework through experiments with two-tube and three tube assemblies under various tendon routing configurations, achieving tip prediction errors $<4\%$ of the robot's total length. We further demonstrate the model's generality by applying it to existing robots in the field, where maximum tip deviations remain around $5\%$ of the total length. This model provides a foundation for accurate shape estimation and control of advanced tendon-actuated concentric tube robots.
title A Comprehensive General Model of Tendon-Actuated Concentric Tube Robots with Multiple Tubes and Tendons
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.23954