Steerable endoscope with motion alignment

A method for computer-aided steering of an endoscope, comprising:

• receiving, via a touch screen display, a user input to move a viewing axis of an endoscope, the endoscope comprising:
• a first articulating segment positioned at a distal end of the endoscope;
• a second independently articulating segment located at the distal end of the endoscope and coupled to a proximal end of the first articulating segment;
• a camera, positioned at the distal end of the first articulating segment, having a field of view along the viewing axis;
• and
• an orientation sensor positioned at the distal end of the endoscope;
• in response to the user input, articulating the first articulating segment of the endoscope to move the viewing axis;
• receiving from the orientation sensor a motion signal indicating movement of the endoscope along a motion axis;
• comparing, at a processing chip, the motion axis with the viewing axis, wherein comparing the motion axis with the viewing axis comprises generating an alignment metric indicating a degree of alignment between the camera axis and the motion axis;
• and
• generating a steering signal that controls articulation of the first and second articulating segments to reduce a difference between the motion axis and the viewing axis.