Robust Motion Planning in Robot-Assisted Surgery for Nonlinear Incision Trajectory

In the era of digital OTs (operating theatres), the developments in robot-assisted surgery (RAS) can greatly benefit the medical field. RAS is a method of technological advancement that uses robotic articulations to assist in complicated surgeries. Its implementation improves the ability of the specialized doctor to perform surgery to a great extent. The paper addresses the dynamics and control of the highly non-linear 3DOF surgical robot manipulator in the event of external disturbances and uncertainties. The integration of non-linear robust SMC (sliding mode control) with a smoothing mechanism, a FOPID (fractional-order proportional integral derivative) controller, and a fuzzy controller provides a high degree of robustness and minimal chatter. The addition of fuzzy logic to the controller, named intelligent fuzzy-SFOSMC (smoothing fractional order sliding mode controller) improves the system’s performance by ruling out the disturbances and uncertainties. The prototype model is developed in a laboratory and its outcomes are validated on OP5600, a real-time digital simulator. Simulation and experimental results of the proposed fuzzy-SFOSMC are compared with conventional controllers, which illustrates the efficacy and superiority of the proposed controller’s performance during the typical surgical situations. The proposed fuzzy-SFOSMC outperforms conventional controllers by providing greater precision and robustness to time-varying nonlinear multi-incision trajectories.