抄録
Laparoscopic surgery is an effective method as alternative to open surgery. Robotic manipulators with multi-DOF forceps have been reported. To ensure more intuitive and much safer manipulation, haptic sensation to operators is an indispensable function of the system. The high backdrivability of the pneumatic actuator allows the detection of external forces from pressure data and compliance control of the system without the use of force sensors. We have prototyped a model of surgical robot system, which has high performance in the estimation of external forces. In this paper, we developed a forceps manipulator with pneumatic drive having a rotating mechanism at the tip. The forceps has total 4-DOF including gripper. The redundant movement can be achieved with the 4-DOF supporting manipulator we have developed. Therefore, the forceps can improve the operability and external force estimation since the singular point can be avoided.
