Topology Design of Surgical Reconfigurable Robots by Interval Analysis

An automated design generation algorithm for a serial kinematic chain is presented for the reconfigurable robot used in a novel endoluminal surgical procedure (European Union project ARES). The algorithm produces the possible topologies, given the design constraints, desired performance, and available modules, such that all constraints are satisfied for every point in the desired workspace. This is achieved through the use of interval analysis methods and branch-and-bound loop that searches through the end-effector pose and the design parameter spaces. The resulting algorithm is demonstrated through an example of a serial chain manipulator made of the reconfigurable modules of the surgical robot for the application. The results are presented and discussed.