An Insertable Low-Cost Continuum Tool for Shape Sensing

Spatial shape sensing of curved lumens in unknown environments is in great need but challenging. This paper presents the design and experimentation of a low-cost continuum tool that can measure the 3D shapes of internal lumens of a structure, simply by inserting the tool into the lumens. Based on the tool's kinematics model, the shape sensing is achieved by constantly monitoring the outputs on the tool's backbones and the longitudinal motion along the lumen during the insertion. After calibration, the spatial shape of a curved lumen was successfully sensed by the continuum tool. The experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed idea.