Data-driven position estimation and collision detection for flexible manipulator

A system for generating a collision detection model for a manipulator apparatus, the system comprising:

• a flexible manipulator comprising an sensor, wherein the flexible manipulator is movable to form a curve;
• a camera configured capture movement of the flexible manipulator relative to a test collision object;
• processing circuitry in communication with the flexible manipulator and the camera, the processing circuitry configured to:
• control the flexible manipulator to cause iterations of movement relative to the test collision object with at least one iteration of movement involving a collision between the flexible manipulator and the test collision object;
• receive sensor data sets associated with the iterations of movement of the flexible manipulator from the sensor;
• receive image data sets associated with the iterations of movement of the flexible manipulator from the camera;
• synthesize the sensor data sets with the image data sets to classify the iterations of movement into a collision class and a no collision class;
• and
• generate the collision detection model for use with the flexible manipulator for position estimation in future procedures based on the synthesized data sets and the classifications of the iterations of movement.

A method for generating a collision detection model for a manipulator apparatus, the method comprising:

• controlling a flexible manipulator to cause iterations of movement relative to a test collision object with at least one iteration of movement involving a collision between the flexible manipulator and the test collision object;
• receiving sensor data sets associated with the iterations of movement of the flexible manipulator from a sensor, wherein the flexible manipulator comprises the sensor;
• receiving image data sets associated with the iterations of movement of the flexible manipulator from a camera, the camera being remote from the flexible manipulator;
• synthesizing, by processing circuitry, the sensor data sets with the image data sets to classify the iterations of movement into a collision class and a no collision class;
• and
• generating a collision detection model for use with the flexible manipulator for position estimation in future procedures based on the synthesized data sets and the classifications of the iterations of movement.