This paper presents a three-tendon actuated continuum robot with an origami backbone to assist the elderly and physically impaired individuals in performing activities of daily living. The proposed design solution is an inherently safe and cost-effective alternative to current assistive robots. The origami backbone based on a variation of the Yoshimura pattern provides controlled deployment of the robot and enables length variation (15 cm - 56 cm) in order to increase the reachable workspace. A pneumatic stiffness mechanism was implemented, increasing the weight bearing capabilities of the continuum robot to 500 g. This new stiffness modulation approach was assessed with the use of several testing rigs. Additionally, the robot is joypad controlled and is easily transportable due to its high packing efficiency of 73% and light weight of 1.3 kg for the main body (including the actuation system). For demonstration of usability studies, the robot was successfully tested at a simulated kitchen terminal and also performed pick and place tasks.

Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers account for 1.5 million deaths worldwide. Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection (ESD) is an advanced therapeutic endoscopy technique with superior clinical outcome due to the minimally invasive anden blocremoval of tumours. In the western world, ESD is seldom carried out, due to its complex and challenging nature. Various surgical systems are being developed to make this therapy accessible, however, these solutions have shown limited operational workspace, dexterity, or low force exertion capabilities. The current paper shows the ESD CYCLOPS system, a bimanual surgical robotic attachment that can be mounted at the end of any flexible endoscope. The system is able to achieve forces of up to 46N, and showed a mean error of 0.217mm during an elliptical tracing task. The workspace and instrument dexterity is shown by pre-clinical ex vivo trials, in which ESD is successfully performed by a GI surgeon. The system is currently undergoing pre-clinicalin vivovalidation.

Flexible endoscopy is a routinely performed procedure that has predominantly remained unchanged for decades despite its many challenges. This paper introduces a novel, more intuitive and ergonomic platform that can be used with any flexible endoscope, allowing easier navigation and manipulation. A standard endoscope is robotized and a gaze control system based on eye-tracking is developed and implemented, allowing hands-free manipulation. The system characteristics and step response has been evaluated using visual servoing. Further, the robotized system has been compared with a manually controlled endoscope during a user study. The users (n=11) showed a preference for the gaze controlled endoscope and a lower task load when the task was performed with the gaze control. In addition, gaze control was related to a higher success rate and a lower time to perform the task. The results presented validate the system's technical performance and demonstrate the intuitiveness of hands-free gaze control in flexible endoscopy.