Learning Factory

As part of the University-Industry Partnership Program called Learning Factory at the Pennsylvania State University, I designed a novel joint mechanism for 7-DOF articulated tendon-driven instrument for single-port laparoscopic surgery through collaborative work with the biomedical venture company Movasu Inc.. As a leading member of our team, I took the initiative in this design project and cooperated with engineering students from Penn State University, Chonnam National University, and Seoul National University. Novel design of the joint mechanism was one of the key factors that determine maneuverability and dexterity of the whole instrument. In order to meet the required functionality of multi-DOF movement, such as rotating the end-effector while bending the joint at the same time, we adopted serial U-joints for the joint mechanism.