Systems and methods for safe compliant insertion and hybrid force/motion telemanipulation of continuum robots

A method of controlling movement of a continuum robot, the continuum robot including a plurality of independently controlled segments along a length of the continuum robot, the method comprising the acts of:

• inserting the continuum robot into a cavity of unknown dimensions or shape;
• determining a plurality of forces acting on the plurality of segments along the length of the continuum robot by the surrounding cavity,
• wherein determining the plurality of forces acting on the plurality of segments along the length of the continuum robot includes determining a plurality of forces including a generalized force acting on each of the plurality of segments along the length of the continuum robot, each force of the plurality of forces including a magnitude and a direction;
• comparing each generalized force of the plurality of forces to a respective expected generalized force for each of the plurality of segments, the expected generalized force being based on the position of the continuum robot;
• receiving a positioning command from a manipulator control, the positioning command indicating a desired movement for a distal end of the continuum robot;
• augmenting the desired movement for the distal end of the continuum robot based, at least in part, on the determined plurality of forces acting on the plurality of segments along the length of the continuum robot to restrict movement of the continuum robot within safe boundaries of the surrounding cavity,
• wherein augmenting the desired movement for the distal end of the continuum robot includes adjusting the position of each segment of the plurality of segments based on a difference between the determined generalized force and the expected generalized force for each of the plurality of segments;
• and
• adjusting the position of the continuum robot based on the augmented desired movement.