In tendon driven continuum manipulators (TDCMs), reconfiguring the tendon routing enables tailored spatial deformation of the backbone. This work presents a design in which tendons can be rerouted either prior to or after actuation by actively rotating the individual spacer disks. Each disk rotation thus adds a degree of freedom to the actuation space, complicating the mapping from a desired backbone curve to the corresponding actuator inputs. However, when the backbone shape is projected into an intermediate space defined by curvature and torsion (C-T), patterns emerge that highlight which disks are most influential in achieving a global shape. This insight enables a simplified, sequential shape-matching strategy: first, the proximal and intermediate disks are rotated to approximate the global shape; then, the distal disks are adjusted to fine-tune the end-effector position with minimal impact on the overall shape. The proposed actuation framework offers a model-free alternative to conventional control approaches, bypassing the complexities of modeling reconfigurable TDCMs.

翻译：在腱驱动连续体机器人（TDCM）中，腱路重构可实现骨架的定制化空间变形。本研究提出一种新型设计，通过主动旋转各间隔盘，即可在驱动前或驱动后重新布置腱路。每个间隔盘的旋转都为驱动空间增加了一个自由度，使从理想骨架曲线到对应驱动输入的映射过程复杂化。然而，当将骨架形态投影至由曲率和挠率（C-T）定义的中间空间时，可揭示出对实现全局形态最具影响力的间隔盘分布模式。基于此洞察，本文提出一种简化的逐级形态匹配策略：首先旋转近端和中间间隔盘以逼近全局形态，随后调整远端间隔盘以精细调节末端执行器位置，同时最大限度减少对整体形态的影响。该驱动框架为传统控制方法提供了一种无模型替代方案，有效规避了可重构型TDCM建模的复杂性。