System for controlling the movement of a multi-linked device
AssigneeCarnegie Mellon University
InventorsMike Schwerin, Cornell Wright, Brett Zubiate, Howie Choset
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system for controlling the movement of a steerable multi-linked device may include a steerable multi-linked device, a feeder mechanism releasably connected to the steerable multi-linked device and a controller device. The steerable multi-linked device may include a first link, a plurality of intermediate links, and a second link movably coupled to a second one of the intermediate links. A first one of the intermediate links may be movably coupled to the first link. The controller device may be configured to control movement of the multi-linked device via the feeder mechanism.
Claims12
-17. (canceled)
A method of controlling the movement of a steerable multi-linked device, the method comprising:
- in response to movement of a handle of a controller device relative to a base of the controller device, advancing or retracting, by a feeder mechanism, one or more of a first multi-linked mechanism or a second multi-linked mechanism of a steerable multi-linked device relative to the feeder mechanism, wherein the second multi-linked mechanism surrounds at least a portion of the first multi-linked mechanism;
- measuring, by one or more force sensors of the steerable multi-linked device, a force associated with a contact between the steerable multi-linked device and a surrounding area;
- receiving, by the feeder mechanism from the steerable multi-linked device:
- deformation information associated with a deformation of the surrounding area, and
- the force;
- estimating a compliance associated with the surrounding area based on the deformation information and the force;
- and
- providing, by the controller device, one or more output forces that resist a user's motion, wherein a magnitude of the one or more output forces is based on the estimated compliance associated with the surrounding area.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.