2022 - That’s a wrap
2022 is coming to an end. I want to take this opportunity to recap the highlights of the year for the Open Continuum Robotics Project.
Reflecting on 2022
2022 was our launch year! Our website www.opencontinuumrobotics.com came live in April. In mid-October, I started posting on our blog twice a week. It was a soft launch with minimal announcements. And yet, we have already received great feedback and encouraging comments.
Kicking off the Open Continuum Robotics Project blog was a relief for me! It has been for many years, that I was thinking about sharing our knowledge and expertise in continuum robotics with our community. I was sold on the idea of writing the first continuum robotics textbook. As I have developed a Continuum Robotics course, which I taught to graduate students at Leibniz University Hannover Germany, and to both, undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Toronto, it was natural to consider turning my course syllabus, notes, and content into a textbook. Earlier this year, I had a profound realization: It would take a long time before such a textbook became published! (My next sabbatical is not until three years from now. How would I set large chunks of time aside to concentrate on book writing before?) In striking a balance between a student audience and researcher audience, that textbook may then not even reflect the most recent developments in the field. A blog on the other hand is more accessible and less intimidating than a textbook. Blog posts could be shorter and written in a more conversational style, which makes them easier to read and understand. A blog also allows me to cover a wider range of topics and perspectives than a textbook. Having different blog post categories allows me to speak to different audiences: students with our 101 posts, researchers with our research posts, etc. Curating blog posts from researchers in the continuum robotics community also provides readers with a more diverse and well-rounded view.
Our three most popular posts this year are
- Constant-Curvature Model of Tendon-driven Continuum Robots
Following up on our general outline of the constant curvature kinematics framework (see 3rd most popular post of 2023), we apply it to tendon-driven continuum robots here. - Continuum Robotics goes Poetry
Arguably world first’s poem about continuum robots. - Constant Curvature Kinematics Framework
Arguably the most used kinematic framework when it comes to modeling a continuumn robot. An entry level post describing the general idea behind this framework.
What do you think of our blog? Do you have ideas for content? Would you want to contribute to the blog? Email me or contact me on Twitter or LinkedIn!
Goals for 2023
2022 was just the kick-off with a soft launch of www.opencontinuumrobotics.com. We have ambitious goals for 2023!
- Release a beta version of our Open Continuum Robot Simulator
- Release our Open Continuum Robot Hardware (CAD models, component list, building instructions, etc.)
- Increase the number of guest blog posts
- Create a sense of community and provide opportunities for interaction
Happy Holidays
We are grateful to each and every one of you who has taken the time to read our content and engage with us. We will take a break from blogging from December 19, 2022, to January 5, 2023. Our next blog posts will be published on January 6, 2023, and look at how to get started with modeling a tendon-driven continuum robot based on your requirements by going beyond constant curvature kinematics.
We hope that this holiday season brings you joy, laughter, and quality time with your loved ones. Whether you’re celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or any other holiday, we wish you a happy and healthy season.
Thank you again for your support, and we look forward to bringing you exciting content in the new year.
