Toward Analytical Modeling and Evaluation of Curvature-Dependent Distributed Friction Force in Tendon-Driven Continuum Manipulators

In this paper, we present an analytical modeling approach to address the problem of tension loss in a generic variable curvature tendon-driven continuum manipulators (TD-CM) occurring due to the tendon-sheath distributed friction force. Despite the previous approaches in the literature, our presented model and the iterative solution algorithm do not rely on a priori known curvature/shape of the TD-CM and can be implemented on any TD-CM with constant/ variable curvatures with a continuous neutral axis function. The performance of the proposed modeling approach in predicting the distributed tendon tension and tension loss has been evaluated via simulation and experimental studies on a TD-CM with planar bending. Results demonstrate the outstanding and accurate performance of our novel modeling and the proposed solution algorithm.