A novel robotic meshworm with segment-bending anchoring for colonoscopy

Abstract

This letter introduces the design and evaluation of a novel worm-inspired, multisegment robotic endoscope with multiple degrees of freedom segments. The novelty of this design is that the robot is able to drive forwards and backwards, anchor itself, steer while inside a tubular structure and control the orientation of an end-mounted camera all by bending its flexible segments. The mechanical design is shown and a sensing system based on Hall Effect sensors is incorporated. In a simulated colon, a top speed of 1.21 mm/s was achieved, equivalent to roughly 38% of the theoretical maximum. These results are discussed and further improvements are suggested, followed by general concluding remarks.