Robotic system for flexible endoscopy

A robotic manipulator for flexible endoscopy comprising:

• an arm;
• a flexible member comprising a tendon sheath system including a tendon in a sheath, the tendon deformable within the sheath such that the tendon and the sheath can exert forces upon and react against each other, the flexible member configured to be coupled to an endoscope, the flexible member having a first end and a second end, the first end of the flexible member connected to the arm such that the arm is movable by the flexible member, the second end of the flexible member couplable to an actuator to allow a physical movement of the arm to be controllable by a physical movement of a controller coupled to the actuator;
• an end effector connected to and movable by the arm;
• and
• an end effector force prediction unit configured to predict as a function of flexible member parameters sensed at the second end of the flexible member (a) tendon sheath system elongation including tendon elongation and sheath elongation at the first end of the flexible member and (b) force experienced by the end effector,
• wherein the end effector force prediction unit is configured to predict tendon sheath system elongation at the first end of the flexible member and force experienced by the end effector without requiring any sensor at a slave manipulator comprising the tendon, the arm, and the end effector.