Development of an Active Flexible Cable by Ciliary Vibration Drive for Scope Camera

Proposed new actuation mechanism realizes active or semi-active mobility for flexible long cables such as fiberscopes and scope cameras. A ciliary vibration mechanism was developed using flexible ciliary tapes that can be attached easily to existing cables. Driving characteristics of the active cables were confirmed through experiments and numerical analyses. Finally, the actuation mechanism was applied for an advanced scope camera that can reduce friction with obstacles and avoid stuck or tangled cables