Abstract Novel applications of soft pneumatic actuation in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) are proposed due to its relatively safe robot–environment interactions. Although the inherent compliance of soft robots makes them suitable for surgery, their low force output and complicated system response and behavior may limit their potential as practical MIS instruments. In this paper, three lobster-inspired antagonistic modules are proposed to realize bidirectional translational, bending and rotational motions and variable stiffness in centimeter scale. Their modular design enables flexible combinations of articulated shafts to satisfy end-effector workspace requirements in MIS. Theoretical models are proposed to relate the input pressure, deformation, output force/torque and stiffness, which provide quantitative solutions for independent adjustment on the deformation and stiffness of each module. A series of experimental results show that the proposed modules can deliver sufficient force and torque output for MIS applications, and they can be conveniently assembled into articulated shafts featuring safe actuation, high dexterity, stiffness tuning and reconfigurability.

中文翻译：

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用于微创手术的受龙虾启发的铰接轴

摘要 由于相对安全的机器人与环境相互作用，软气动驱动在微创手术 (MIS) 中的新应用被提出。尽管软机器人固有的顺应性使其适用于手术，但它们的低力输出和复杂的系统响应和行为可能会限制其作为实用 MIS 仪器的潜力。在本文中，提出了三个受龙虾启发的对抗模块，以实现厘米尺度的双向平移、弯曲和旋转运动以及可变刚度。其模块化设计可实现铰接轴的灵活组合，以满足 MIS 中的末端执行器工作空间要求。提出了理论模型来关联输入压力、变形、输出力/扭矩和刚度，为每个模块的变形和刚度的独立调整提供定量解决方案。一系列实验结果表明，所提出的模块可以为 MIS 应用提供足够的力和扭矩输出，并且它们可以方便地组装成具有安全致动、高灵巧性、刚度可调和可重构性的铰接轴。