Optimization and Control of a Self-propelled Capsule Moving Small Intestine

doi:10.3901/JME.2025.03.299

Abstract

Abstract: For gastrointestinal endoscopy, traditional wired endoscopy brings psychological burden and physical discomfort to patients, while capsule endoscopy faces challenges in achieving a comprehensive and efficient examination of the small intestine due to propulsion mechanisms and complexity of control. A small intestine-capsule coupling dynamics model is developed, in which both the flat and the narrow structures of the small intestine are considered. The dynamic behaviours of the self-propelled capsule moving in small intestine are analysed by considering the variable friction environment and the varying degrees of capsule wrapping on the capsule. Subsequently, the moving speed of capsule, energy consumption, and impact force acting on small intestine are set as the optimization objectives, the optimization algorithms (Six-Sigma + NSGA-II + Monte-Carlo) are combined to explore the optimized parameters for the controllable movement of the capsule. Finally, both the ADAMS simulations and the experimental tests are carried out to verify that the obtained optimization results can be used to control the self-propelled capsule to achieve the movement with a designed direction and speed, meanwhile both its energy consumption and the impact force can remain low levels.

Key words: small intestine, capsule, non-smooth, multi-objective optimization, motion control

CLC Number:

TH212
TH213

LIAO Maolin, LI Zhi, ZHU Jiapeng, WANG Zexu, JOSEPH Páez Chávez. Optimization and Control of a Self-propelled Capsule Moving Small Intestine[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2025, 61(3): 299-313.

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