Manual and robotic end effector movement coordination

A robotic system comprising:

• controller means configured to cause actuation of one or more actuators of each of a first robotic arm and a second robotic arm, the controller means being configured to:
• determine an alignment between a first instrument device manipulator (IDM) of the first robotic arm and a second IDM of the second robotic arm that creates a virtual line, the first IDM including a first motor for driving a sheath of an instrument and the second IDM including a second motor for driving a leader of the instrument disposed within the sheath of the instrument;
• receive manual positioning input for the first robotic arm based at least in part on output from sensor means associated with the first robotic arm;
• and
• in response to the manual positioning input:
• determine a movement of the virtual line based on the manual positioning input;
• generate a first movement command to move the first robotic arm in accordance with the manual positioning input;
• and
• generate a second movement command to move the second robotic arm based on the movement of the virtual line so that the leader of the instrument remains aligned with the sheath of the instrument relative to a point on the virtual line.

A method for controlling a robotic system, comprising:

• determining an alignment between a first instrument device manipulator (IDM) of a first robotic arm and a second IDM of a second robotic arm that creates a virtual line, the first IDM including a first motor for driving a sheath of an instrument and the second IDM including a second motor for driving a leader of the instrument disposed within the sheath of the instrument;
• receiving manual positioning input for the first robotic arm based at least in part on sensor signals from one or more sensors of the first robotic arm;
• determining a movement of the virtual line based on the manual positioning input;
• generating a first movement command to move the first robotic arm in accordance with the manual positioning input;
• and
• generating a second movement command to move the second robotic arm based on the movement of the virtual line so that the leader of the instrument remains aligned with the sheath of the instrument relative to a point on the virtual line.