New method cuts flexible robot error below 1%, boosts precision in tighter spaces

Researchers at IIT Gandhinagar developed a control method called virtual actuation space (VAS) for tendon-driven continuum robots.

VAS models each robot section with two parameters — direction and magnitude — reducing direct tendon control.

A two-section prototype with six motors achieved positional errors below 1% while following complex paths.

The method allowed independent section control and was published in the journal Robotica.