Asymmetric Continuum Robots

Continuum robots are flexible mechanisms that enable tasks in cluttered environments where conventional robots cannot operate. However, their few design parameters and task/manufacturing constraints leave small margins for optimization. In this paper, we expand the design space of continuum robots by introducing asymmetries. Asymmetric robot kinematics show how the new design parameters affect robot behavior and provide a framework for task-oriented design. The theoretical results are validated on a prototype with an automatically-generated asymmetric design, which navigates through an environment inaccessible to equivalent symmetric robots.