In this paper, we discuss a novel continuum robot design that enables the online tuning of the magnetic response at its tip. The proposed method allows for the change of both effective magnetic direction and intensity, introducing steering DOF without the need to control the external fields. This is unattainable with classical designs, which rely on fixed internal magnetic content and steer solely under the effect of a controllable magnetic field. The proposed robot design can be used in both controllable and fixed magnetic fields, potentially widening the clinical applicability of these robots. We experimentally show a max tip deflection of 33.8 mm from the resting state (23 % of the length of the robot). We discuss a model based on modified beam theory that captures the mechanical behavior of the continuum robot, with a mean absolute tip tracking error of 1.86 mm (1.2 % of the length) and maximum errors of less than 4.8 mm (3.2 % of the length) for all experimental points.

翻译：本文讨论了一种新颖的连续体机器人设计，该设计能够实现在线调节其末端磁响应。所提出的方法允许同时改变有效磁场方向和强度，引入了转向自由度，而无需控制外部磁场。这是传统设计无法实现的，传统设计依赖于固定的内部磁含量，并仅在可控磁场的作用下进行转向。所提出的机器人设计既可在可控磁场也可在固定磁场中使用，这有可能拓宽这类机器人的临床应用范围。我们通过实验展示了最大尖端偏转距离为33.8毫米（占机器人长度的23%）。我们基于修正梁理论讨论了一个模型，该模型捕捉了连续体机器人的力学行为，其平均绝对尖端跟踪误差为1.86毫米（占长度的1.2%），所有实验点的最大误差小于4.8毫米（占长度的3.2%）。