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Tendon routing and anchoring for cableriven single-t surgical manipulators 183

Figure 7.11
Overall prototype based on the master-slave architecture.

actuating tendons, and guides were assembled and integrated with the control electronics, as
shown in Fig. 7.11. In line with our design goal of an intuitive device, we give unidirectional
control over the behavior of the robot. Hence, we adopted a master-slave architecture where
the surgeon uses the master-side controls to input his desired actions. These actions are
translated into electrical signals and further retranslated into actuation movements, which are
sent to the actuating devices. These actuation devices manipulate the slave tools to perform
the procedure inside the human body.

7.5.2 Implementing the master-slave teleoperation

7.5.2.1 Master control system

The master control system includes the input device (joystick) that reads the surgeon’s inputs,
a microcontroller (Arduino controller), and motor actuators that manipulate the channels.
Fig. 7.12 shows the overall picture of the master control system. The manipulation inputs are
read from an analog joystick. These input data are then processed by the controller, which