PALPABLE consortium explores latest project advances at Queen Mary University

PALPABLE partners came together in London from the 26th to 27th of June to discuss the latest research developments and plan for the coming months, hosted by Queen Mary University of London.

All partners, TWI Hellas, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Medtronic,Bendabl, Università degli Studi di Torino, Fraunhofer HHI, The European Association of Endoscopic Surgery, Sofradim Production SASU, Queen Mary University of London, University of Essex gave an overview of their progress for internal review. Discussions included the first iteration of the probe design, the fabrication of the soft steering mechanism, and the development of the PALPABLE optical sensors.

An integration workshop gave partners the opportunity to plan ahead, towards an integrated prototype that will be developed in the following months. Time was also spent planning the upcoming review meeting and fine tuning the details of the M18 report, as well as how to ensure the most effective communication and dissemination activities.

Participants also had the opportunity to visit QMUL’s Centre for Advanced Robotics, a state-of-the-art robotics lab for teaching and research, and discuss with the researchers on soft robotics and stiffness sensing. The lab is equipped with the latest robotic systems and specialised equipment, including medical robotics devices, soft robots, fabrication systems, sensor manufacturing and testing equipment. The visiting partners also had the opportunity to attend a live demonstration of the QMUL sensing device, which sparked conversations on module interfacing and device integration.

The gathering further built the collaborative spirit of the PALPABLE project, with partners leaving the meeting inspired and ready to advance their innovative research and development.