PhD Studentship in Soft Robotics; Stiffness and position control for flexible soft robotic manipulators

Robotics has been shown to have a role in minimally invasive surgery with the potential to improve patient outcomes. Currently, there are a number of surgical robotic platforms dominating the market. These systems are multi-arm robotic devices equipped with surgical tools that can be operated remotely via a user input console. However, despite the 'wristed' nature of these instruments, the current robotic platforms utilise rigid or 'straight' instruments. Thus, there remain difficulties in accessing important parts and the full potential of the robotic platform is not exploited.

The aim of this project is to develop a new soft, stiffness-controllable robotic manipulator including model-based control methods. The application area is minimally invasive surgery. In particular, highly dexterous procedures create demand for the development of new surgical tools to aid surgeons in their work and subsequently improve patient care.