Autonomous closed loop control of a flexible tendon-driven continuum manipulator having a sensor at a distal tip is performed by measuring spatial attributes of a sensor at the distal tip and estimating an orientation of a base of an articulating region of the flexible tendon-driven continuum manipulator from a kinematic model and the spatial attributes of the sensor. The manipulator control in a task space uses the estimated orientation, a desired trajectory in the task space, and the position of the sensor at the distal tip. The sensor at the distal tip may be a magnetic sensor, impedance sensor, or optical sensor.
