Continuum arm robot system

A control system for a compliant robotic system comprising at least two compliant robots each compliant robot having their own actuator pack, the control system comprising:

• an individual local control system associated with each of the actuator packs, the local control system providing control signals to the actuator packs to cause movement within the at least two compliant robots,
• an overall control system which controls the overall motion of the robots when the robots are proximate within a workspace, the overall control system providing signals collectively defining an overall control to the actuator packs associated with the at least two compliant robots, so as to cause linked movement of the compliant robots, wherein the overall control system includes receipt of synchronized clock signals from the compliant robots;
• wherein each individual local control system is provided with a clock, and the clock of a respective individual local control system is synchronized with the other clocks, and wherein the overall control system is provided with a redundancy control system that limits the motion of the compliant robots within certain degrees of freedom, so that the motion of the at least two compliant robots does not conflict when operating under the overall control system, and
• wherein the at least two compliant robots include a first compliant robot and a second compliant robot, and the second compliant robot includes a connection mechanism that is configured to grip the first compliant robot at a plurality of positions along the first compliant robot.