IMMAT’2022

2nd Edition of the international conference on innovative

materials, manufacturing, and advanced technologies
October 27-29, 2022 -- Sousse - Tunisia

Inverse Kinematics of Conical-Shaped Continuum Robots Based on

the Closed-Loop Algorithm
Leila Bousbiaa, Ammar Amouria, Abdelhakim Cherfiaa

a
Laboratory of Mechanics, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Frères Mentouri University
(UFMC1) , Road of Ain El Bey Constantine 25000, Algeria, leilabsb3@gmail.com,
ammar_amouri@yahoo.fr, cherfia_abdelhakim@yahoo.fr

Résumé – Jusqu’à présent, la résolution du modèle géométrique inverse IK pour des robots
continuums reste un défi en raison de sa complexité, de sa flexibilité et de son hyper-redondance.
Notre article présent une solution du modèle géométrique inverse d’un robot continuum à forme
conique appelé CSCR basé sur l’algorithme géométrique inverse en boucle fermée CLIK au niveau
de vitesse. Initialement, en se basant sur l’hypothèse de courbure constante CCKA, le modèle
géométrique direct FKM d’un CSCR à courbure variable a été développé. Les variables
apparaissant lors du calcul du modèle géométrique direct FKM du CSCR ont été réduits à l’aide
d’une méthode de réduction des variables. Ensuite, La matrice jacobienne a été présentée en
utilisant le modèle géométrique développé. Le modèle cinématique inverse a été obtenue en
utilisant le jacobienne pseudo-inverse. Par la suite, le modèle géométrique inverse IKM a été
résolu au niveau de vitesse en utilisant l’algorithme géométrique inverse en boucle fermé. Un
exemple de simulation sous logiciel Matlab a été réalisé afin de vérifier l’efficacité de la solution
proposé. D’après les résultats obtenus, la solution du modèle géométrique inverse IK proposé
pourrait résoudre avec précision le modèle géométrique inverse d’un robot continuum à courbure
variable.

Mots clés: robot continuum à forme conique / l’hypothèse de courbure constante /courbure
variable / modèle géométrique inverse / l’algorithme à boucle fermé.

Abstract – So far, solving inverse kinematics (IK) problems for Continuum Robots (CSCRs)
remains a challenge due to their complexity, flexibility, and hyper-redundancy. Our paper presents
the inverse kinematic IK solution of a conical shaped continuum robot, so-called CSCR, based on
the Closed‐Loop Inverse Kinematic CLIK algorithm at the velocity level. Initially, based on the
constant curvature kinematic assumption CCKA, the forward kinematic model FKM of a variable
curvature CSCR has been developed. The variables appear when the calculating of the FKM has
been narrowed down using a reduced variable method. Then, the Jacobian matrix has been
presented through the use of the proposed FKM. The pseudo-inverse method has been used in
order to invert the velocity kinematic. Subsequently, the IK has been solved at the velocity level
via the Closed‐Loop Inverse Kinematic (CLIK) algorithm. A simulation example through Matlab
software has been carried out to verify the efficiency of the proposed solution. Through the
obtained results, the proposed IK solution could accurately solve the IKM of a variable curvature
continuum robot.

Key words: conical shaped continuum robot / constant curvature assumption / variable curvature /
inverse kinematic problem / the closed-loop algorithm.

27-29 Octobre, Sousse - Tunisia

2nd Edition of the international conference on innovative materials, manufacturing, and Advanced technologies
1 Introduction
In the last two decades, the robotic field has seen a
great evolution. Researchers are inspired by biology
to create a continuous and soft architecture able to
adapt to various environments. These robots are
named continuum robots. Because of their high
flexibility, dexterity, and hyper-redundancy,
continuum robots are used in a wide range of
applications, including surgery [7], space inspection
[8], aero-engine repair and inspection [12],
agriculture [3], and so on. However, these features
make continuum robot modeling a challenge due to
its complexity.
Solving inverse kinematic problems is one of the
difficult issues in continuum robot modeling. The
hyper-redundancy derives from an infinite number
of IK solutions. Several methods and approaches
are proposed to solve the IK problem. In [14, 6],
analytical methods based on mathematical
equations have been used. In [6], the inverse
kinematic has been developed for a single-section
continuum robot. The authors assumed that the
robot section is inextensible and curves as a perfect
circular arc in which the constant curvature
assumption is used. The numerical methods are also
used to solve the IK model. In [9], the Newton-
Raphason iterative method and the least square
method have been used to develop the IK. The
metaheuristic optimization method has been used to
solve the IK in several works due to its efficiency
[1-2, 13]. Researchers in [2] developed the IK using
practical swarm optimization and the genetic
algorithm, in which a comparison between the two
methods indicates that the practical swarm
optimization PSO is more accurate than the genetic
algorithm. Learning-based approaches have also
been used to better predict the continuum robot
behavior. A learning method based on the neural
network has been proposed in [18]. The main idea
is to learn a global-specific IK solution for the
redundant robot. In the same context, researchers in
[10] used a learning approach based on the growing
neural gas to solve the IK for wheeled mobile
continuum manipulators WMCM. Another method
to solve the IK is based on the differential inverse
kinematic model. Researchers in [4] developed the
IK using the differential inverse kinematic in which
the Jacobian matrix has been calculated based on
the modified Denavit-Hertemberg method. Using
the same method, in [16] the Jacobian matrix is
calculated based on the constant curvature
assumption. To solve the differential inverse
kinematic, the pseudo inverse method has been
used. Finally, the IK has been solved using
kinematic control.
In this paper, we focus on the conical-shaped
continuum robot, namely CSCR. The forward
kinematic model FKM of a driven cable conical
shaped continuum robot has been developed based
Sousse 27-29 Octobre 2022, Tunisie
IMMAT’2022
on the proposed forward kinematic model in [11].
This approach is used to narrow down the variable
numbers to simplify the inverse kinematic problem
IKM resolution. Our main contribution in this paper
is to develop the IKM using the Closed-Loop
Inverse Kinematic CLIK Algorithm at the velocity
level. The velocity kinematic describes the robot tip
velocity according to the configuration space
velocity using the Jacobian matrix. Inversely, we
aim to describe the configuration space velocity
according to the robot tip velocity using the
Jacobian pseudo-inverse [17]. Based on the
weighted least norm method [6], the closed loop
algorithm has been used to obtain the inverse
kinematic model.
This paper is organized as follows: Section 2
presents the continuum robot, namely the CSCR
description. Section 3 presents the forward
kinematic model. The inverse kinematic has been
solved in section 4. A simulation example has been
implemented and the results have been discussed in
section 5. Finally, section 6 concludes the paper and
gives some prospects.
2 Description of the conical shaped
continuum robot
In this section, a kinematic description of a cable-
driven conical-shaped continuum robot, namely
CSCR, is presented. Figure 1 presents a CAD view
of the considered continuum robot. As illustrated in
this figure, the CSCR is composed of one single
section; in three-dimensional space, the proposed
CSCR has 2 DOF, an orientation angle, and a
bending angle, noting that the torsion effect has
been ignored. The CSCR is composed of a flexible
rod divided into five units by six rigid disks, where
the lower disk and the upper disk are made of 30
mm and 20 mm in diameter respectively, in which
the first disk is considered as a fixed base. Each
unit is made of 60 mm. Each disk has three guiding
holes spaced at 120°. Three actuated cables are
passed through the guiding holes along the CSCR.
Each unit is assumed to curve as a perfect circular
arc in which each section could be curved as a
variable curvature. The used nomenclature is
presented in Figure 2. It should be noted that the
index i refers to the cable number and the
index j refers to the unit’s number
where i  1,..,3 and j  1,..,5 .
1
The international conference on innovative materials, manufacturing, and advanced technologies IMMAT’2019

 c 2 c j  s 2  cc js  cs cs j 

 j1  
R j  cc js  cs s 2 c j  c 2  ss j 
 cs j ss j c j 

(2)
 lj
 c j (1  c j )
 j
l
  j
r jj1   s j (1  c j ) 
 j
 lj
Figure 1. A CAD view of the CSCR in three-  s j
dimensional space  j
The specific mapping gives the arc parameters as a
function of the cable length. However, for a conical
shape unit, this mapping does not provide an
analytical solution. Thus, considering the
orientation angle equal to zero (i.e.   0 ), the
proposed approach in [11] based on the
optimization method is used to describe the bending
angle 1 according to the first cable length
variation  1,1 by the following equation:
1  2.0755.10 ˆ 1,1
3
 1.0626.102 ˆ 1,1
4 2
 2.4401ˆ 1,1
5.2612.104 
Figure 2. The nomenclture of the CSCR unit 
The forward kinematic of the conical shaped
3 Forward kinematic model of the continuum robot composed of one section is given
as follow:
CSCR
m
H 0m   H jj1

Among the forward kinematic modeling methods, 
the constant curvature kinematic assumption j 0

(CCKA) is known as a characteristic of the

continuum robots due to its simplicity. Based on the
(CCKA), the CSCR is composed of a finite number
of units serially attached; each unit curves as a
circular arc, having individual arc parameters. This
yields a unit kinematics with a piecewise constant
curvature, providing the ability to be fitted to the
CSCR curves of variable curvature.
The forward kinematic model of the j unit could be
decomposed into two mapping. An independent
mapping describes the task space (X j , Yj , Z j )
according to the configuration space ( j , rj ,  j ) this
mapping could be giving by the homogeneous
transformation matrix as follows:
For each unit, the bending angle is obtained using
the same method according to the first cable length
variation. However, in order to reduce the number
of variables, the angle  j where ( j  2,..,5) is
expressed as a function of the first bending angle
1 as follows:
 j  c1, j13  c2, j12  c3, j1  c4, j 
Where table 2 presents the forward kinematic
model coefficients c1, j , c2, j , c3, j and c4, j
Table2. Forward kinematic model coefficient

j  2,..,5 c1, j c2, j c3, j c4, j

 j1
 R  j1 r jj1 


H j  j  
 013 1  2 3.052. -3.608. 1.0908 1.097.
10-6 10-4 10-4
Noted that R  jj1 and
 
r jj1 are respectively the 3 7.914. -9.088. 1.1997 3.371.
10-6 10-4 10-4
rotational matrix and the position vector. They are 4 1.586. -1.759. 1.3326 8.113.
expressed as follows: 10-5 10-3 10-4

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2nd Edition of the international conference on innovative materials, manufacturing, and Advanced technologies IMMAT’2022

5 2.935. -3.115. 1.4984 1.829. 4.2 The Closed‐Loop Inverse Kinematic

10-5 10-3 10-3
4 Forward kinematic model of the
CSCR
By definition, the Inverse Kinematic Model (IKM)
describes the actuation state according to the robot
tip configuration. This paper aims to identify the
arc parameters according to the desired trajectory of
the CSCR using the Closed‐Loop Inverse
Kinematic (CLIK) Algorithm at the velocity level.
For a desired trajectory from the robot
workspace X d (t) , the arc parameters should be
defined, including the initial condition to achieve
the desired trajectory.
4.1 The velocity kinematics
The velocity kinematics is obtained by
differentiating the forward kinematic model FKM
with respect to time. Focusing on the independent
transformation, the velocity kinematic model could
be given as follows:
X  J(Qk )Qk And (k  1, 2) 
Noted that Q k is the arc parameter, Qk is the
vector of the bending  j and the orientation 
velocity, X is the CSCR tip velocity and J(Qk ) is
(p  q) the dimensional Jacobian matrix. This
matrix is a function of the bending angles and the
orientation angle. This matrix could be calculated
analytically by differentiation with respect to the
bending and the orientation angles of the position
vector of the CSCR obtained previously as
follows:
Algorithm CLIK
Figure 3. The closed-loop inverse kinematic CLIK
algorithm
As presented in figure 3, the Closed‐Loop Inverse
Kinematic (CLIK) Algorithm is defined as
follows: at the velocity level, for a desired
trajectory X d (t) we obtain the corresponding space
configuration velocity Qk (t) . Using the weighed
least-norm solution proposed in [17], the
configuration space velocity is given as:
Qk  W 1J T (JW 1J T )1 (X d  K( X d  X g )) 
5 Results of simulation
In order to underline the accuracy of the closed-
loop inverse kinematic algorithm, a simulation of a
driven cable conical shaped continuum robot has
been performed in Matlab software using Intel Core
i5, 2.60 GHz, 8 Go RAM, 64-bit operating system.
As presented in figure 4, the proposed method is
used for a tracking trajectory in the planar
projection within a single section CSCR’s
workspace.

rj0 rj0 rj0 

J(Qk )    
Qk   j  

Using the proposed FKM, the Jacobian Matrix

could be calculated as:

 rj0 rj0 
J(Qk )    
 1  

In this case of p  q , the velocity kinematic is

inverted via the pseudo-inverse method. The
banding and the orientation velocity could be
calculated by the following equation:
Qk  JT (JJT )1 Xd
Figure 4. The desired trajectory within the CSCR’s
workspace
Some configuration of the driven cable CSCR a
 tracking the desired trajectory are presented in
figure 5, as presented the generated trajectory is
very close to the desired trajectory. The Euclidian

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The international conference on innovative materials, manufacturing, and advanced technologies IMMAT’2019
error presented in the figure 6 shows that the
maximum error is less than 0.1 mm.
Figure 5. Some configuration of the CSCR a
tracking the desired trajectory
Figure 6. The Euclidian error analysis of the
CSCR trajectory
The variation of the obtained bending angles usig
the CLIK algorithm is presented in figure 7. As
presented the bending angles value increase from
the bottom to the top of section.
Figure 7. The bending angle variation
In order to verify the efficiency of the closed-loop
inverse kinematic algithm, a comparison between
the first bending angle 1 obtained using the CLIK
algorithm and the corresponding bending angle to
the desired trajectory using the FKM is presented in
Monastir 16-18 Octobre, Tunisie
figure 8. As presented in figure 8, the curves are
very close. The Euclidian error presented in figure
8 a significant convergence between the two curves
is seen where the maximum error is less than
2.104 .
Figure 8. comparison and error analysis between
the obtained benting angle from the CLIK agorithm
and the IKM
As well as a comparison between the orientation
angle corresponding to the desired trajectory and
obtaned using the CLIK and the obtained using the
FKM is presented in figure 9.as presented in figure
9, the maximum error is less than 6.103 .
Figure 9. comparison and error analysis between
the obtained orientation angle from the CLIK
agorithm and the IKM
To derive the IKM, it is necessary to obtaine the
cable length variation. The variation of each cable
length for each unit is presented in the figure 10. As
shown in this figure for each cable the length
increase from the bottom unit to the top unit. We
can deduce that there is a proportienelle relation
between the bending angles and the cable length
variation.
Figure 10. variation of the cables length
6 Conclusion
4
2nd Edition of the international conference on innovative materials, manufacturing, and Advanced technologies
In this paper, based on some hypothesis, the
forward kinematic model of a variable curvature
continuum robot, namely CSCR, is presented using
a reduced variable method. This method aims to
reduce the number of variables appear when the
calculating the CSCR's FKM. Based on the
developed FKM, the IKM is solved using the
Closed-Loop Inverse Kinematic algorithm at the
velocity level. Initially, the Jacobian pseudo-inverse
is used to develop the inverse velocity kinematic.
Secondly, the bending and the orientation velocity
are calculated based on the weighted least-norm
solution. Finally, the CLIK algorithm is used to
solve the IKM. In order to verify the proposed
method's accuracy, a simulation of a single-section
CSCR composed of 5 units is implemented in
Matlab software. According to the obtained results,
this method is not computationally expensive as
long as the proposed method achieves good
performance. As a perspective, we intend to extend
the CLIK algorithm for a multi-section continuum
robot to track a different trajectory.
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