Background Studies have been conducted on slave‐specific master devices with a similar kinematic structure to the slave to enhance intuitiveness. However, for the four‐degrees of freedom (DOFs) slave of a flexible endoscopic surgery robot, only four DOFs in the master device causes low ergonomic performance. Methods To enhance ergonomic performance, a second yaw joint was added as a redundant joint after considering the range of wrist motion and the workspace shape. Three experiments were performed to compare the intuitiveness and ergonomic performance of the proposed device with four‐DOFs slave‐specific and six‐DOFs general‐purpose master devices. Results Significant differences were observed in terms of intuitiveness performance between the slave‐specific and the general‐purposed master device. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in ergonomic performance between the master devices with redundant joint. Conclusions Compared with a general‐purpose master device, the proposed one exhibited noticeably improved intuitiveness performance and comparable ergonomic performance.

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Background: Master devices exclusively used for endoscopes with position control are being developed as an isomorphic form of endoscopes. These master devices are difficult to intuitively operate because the movement direction of the endoscopic image and control handle do not match. Methods:To solve this problem, a master device was developed. Its movement direction is compatible with that of the endoscopic image. It analyzes image movements according to flexible endoscopic ureteroscope movements for each degree of freedom. A driving testbed experiment was conducted that modelled the internal structure of a kidney. Results:The time taken in the experiment was shorter when using the proposed master device than the existing isomorphic master device. The proposed device yielded fewer mistakes. Conclusions:It was confirmed the proposed device is effective in exclusive use for endoscopes because of its feasibility of position control and movement direction's coinciding with that of the endoscopic image.