Inverse Kinematics Control Methods for Redundant Snakelike Robot Teleoperation During Minimally Invasive Surgery

The real-time teleoperation or telemanipulation of redundant snakelike robots for minimally invasive surgery in a master–slave configuration is a complex problem. There are many possible mappings between a master's standard 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) and a redundant slave robot, typically with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n \gg \ 6$</tex-math></inline-formula> DOF. This letter introduces a snakelike robot for ear, nose, and throat surgery. The robot's architecture is comprised of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n = 26$</tex-math></inline-formula> joint variables. Six different control methods were investigated. The methods are compared through simulation with a user study. Each participant performed the same task using each of the six different control methods. Based on the metrics selected, the sparse pseudo-L<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{0}$</tex-math></inline-formula> and our proposed approach performed better in terms of intuitiveness, real-time capabilities, and overall occupied volume.