Systems and methods for control of end effectors

A method of controlling an end effector of an instrument supported by a computer-assisted device, the method comprising:

• driving, by a control unit, a first actuator to engage a first engagement member with a third engagement member of the instrument, where movement of the third engagement member causes a movement of a degree of freedom of the end effector in a first direction;
• driving, by the control unit, a second actuator to engage a second engagement member with a fourth engagement member of the instrument, where movement of the fourth engagement member causes a movement of the degree of freedom in a second direction opposite the first direction;
• driving, by the control unit, the degree of freedom in the first direction to a first detectable position that corresponds to a collision between the end effector and a first side of a lumen in the first direction;
• driving, by the control unit, the degree of freedom in the second direction to a second detectable position that corresponds to a collision between the end effector and a second side of the lumen in the second direction;
• and
• driving, by the control unit, the degree of freedom to a third position between the first detectable position and the second detectable position.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions which when executed by one or more processors associated with a control unit of a computer-assisted device configured to support an instrument having an end effector are adapted to cause the one or more processors to perform a method comprising:

• driving a first actuator to engage a first engagement member with a third engagement member of the instrument, where movement of the third engagement member causes a movement of a degree of freedom of the end effector in a first direction;
• driving a second actuator to engage a second engagement member with a fourth engagement member of the instrument, where movement of the fourth engagement member causes a movement of the degree of freedom in a second direction opposite the first direction;
• driving the degree of freedom in the first direction to a first detectable position that corresponds to a collision between the end effector and a first side of a cannula in the first direction;
• driving the degree of freedom in the second direction to a second detectable position that corresponds to a collision between the end effector and a second side of the cannula in the second direction;
• and
• driving the degree of freedom to a third position between the first detectable position and the second detectable position.