New Robot Arm Can Move 5 Times the Weight at Twice the Speed
Copyright 2004 Asia Pulse Pte Limited
A research team at Keio University has developed the drive technology for a new type of robot arm that can lift five times as much weight as other machines of its size and move the lifted object twice as fast.
In a conventional robot arm, the drive force of the motor is used to raise both the arm and the object being lifted. The new robot arm is fitted with springs that support the arm’s weight. As a result, all of the drive force from the motor can be used to lift and move the object.
This design not only makes better use of energy and drive force, but enables a robot arm of comparable capabilities to be built using a less-powerful motor. As a result, the arm can be designed smaller and made for less money.
The prototype robot arm has shoulder and elbow joints, and when fully extended reaches out around 1 meter. The machine can lift objects as heavy as 13kg at the extremity, compared to the 2.5kg limit of a conventional robot arm of its size. In addition, objects held at the extremity can be moved at the fast speed of 2.6 meters per second.
Since the springs support the weight of the arm and belts maintain the joint positions, the robot arm can retain its stance even when the motor stops . Also, the shoulder joint can rotate, so the lifted object can be freely repositioned.
Copyright 2004 Asia Pulse Pte Limited
Copyright © 2002 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
