In this section

Soft Robotics and Applied Control

Soft and flexible robotic systems for affordable healthcare.

Head of Group

B414B Bessemer Building
South Kensington Campus

What we do

Our research investigates fundamental aspects of control of soft and flexible robots for surgery. These include harnessing the intrinsic compliance of soft robots, rejecting disturbances that characterise the surgical environment, and complying with stringent safety requirements. Our ambition is to provide affordable robotic solutions for a range of surgical applications, including endoscopy, percutaneous intervention, and multi-handed surgery.

Why it is important?

Robotics for healthcare is one of the fastest growing segments in the global robotics market. However, conventional surgical robots are unaffordable in low-resource settings. Harnessing the potential of soft and flexible robots can contribute to making surgery safter, more accurate, and more accessible in low-middle income countries. These are pressing needs due to the aging population, and to the growing workforce crisis in the healthcare market.

How can it benefit patients?

Our work aims to improve accuracy, reduce the risk of injury, and reduce discomfort in percutaneous interventions such as biopsy, in diagnostic and interventional endoscopy, and in multi-handed surgery.

Dr Enrico Franco
Lecturer

Citation

BibTex format

@inproceedings{Treratanakulchai:2022:10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981437,
author = {Treratanakulchai, S and Franco, E and Garriga, Casanovas A and Hu, M and Kassanos, P and Rodriguez, y Baena F},
doi = {10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981437},
pages = {6944--6951},
publisher = {IEEE},
title = {Development of a 6 DOF soft robotic manipulator with integrated sensing Skin},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981437},
year = {2022}
}

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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This paper presents a new 6 DOF soft roboticmanipulator intended for colorectal surgery. The manipulator,based on a novel design that employs an inextensible tube tolimit axial extension, is shown to maximize the force exertedat its tip and the bending angle, the latter being measuredwith a soft sensing skin. Manufacturing of the prototypeis achieved with a lost-wax silicone-casting technique. Thekinematic model of the manipulator, its workspace, and itsmanipulability are discussed. The prototype is evaluated withextensive experiments, including pressure-deflection measure-ment with and without tip load, and lateral force measurementswith and without the soft sensing skin to assess hysteresis. Theexperimental results indicate that the prototype fulfils the keydesign requirements for colorectal surgery: (i) it can generatesufficient force to perform a range of laparoscopic tasks; (ii) theworkspace is commensurate with the dimensions of the largeintestine; (iii) the soft sensing skin only results in a marginalreduction of the maximum tip rotation within the range ofpressures and external loads relevant for the chosen application.
AU  - Treratanakulchai,S
AU  - Franco,E
AU  - Garriga,Casanovas A
AU  - Hu,M
AU  - Kassanos,P
AU  - Rodriguez,y Baena F
DO  - 10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981437
EP  - 6951
PB  - IEEE
PY  - 2022///
SP  - 6944
TI  - Development of a 6 DOF soft robotic manipulator with integrated sensing Skin
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/IROS47612.2022.9981437
UR  - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9981437
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/99434
ER  -