two-DOF Joint Research Articles

Mechanism design and kinematic analysis of a robotic manipulator driven by joints with two degrees of freedom (DOF)

PurposeThis paper aims to introduce a new design concept for robotic manipulator driven by the special two degrees of freedom (DOF) joints. Joint as a basic but essential component of the robotic manipulator is analysed emphatically.Design/methodology/approachThe proposed robotic manipulator consists of several two-DOF joints and a rotary joint. Each of the two-DOF joints consists of a cylinder pairs driven by two DC motors and a universal joint (U-joint). Both kinematics of the robotic manipulator and the two-DOF joint are analysed. The influence to output ability of the joint in terms of the scale effect of the inclined plane is analysed in ADAMS simulation software. The contrast between the general and the proposed two-DOF joint is also studied. Finally, a physical prototype of the two-DOF joint is developed for experiments.FindingsThe kinematic analysis indicates that the joint can achieve omnidirectional deflection motion at a range of ±50° and the robotic manipulator can reach a similar workspace in comparison to the general robotic manipulator. Based on the kinematic analysis, two special motion modes are proposed to endow the two-DOF joint with better motion capabilities. The contrast simulation results between the general and the proposed two-DOF joints suggest that the proposed joint can perform better in the output ability. The experimental results verify the kinematic analysis and motion ability of the proposed two-DOF joint.Originality/valueA new design concept of a robotic manipulator has been presented and verified. The complete kinematic analysis of a special two-DOF joint and a seven-DOF robotic manipulator have been resolved and verified. Compared with the general two-DOF joint, the proposed two-DOF joint can perform better in output ability.

A fuzzy PID-controlled SMA actuator for a two-DOF joint

Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator is a potential advanced component for servo-systems of aerospace vehicles and aircraft. This paper presents a joint with two degrees of freedom (DOF) and a mobility range close to ±60° when driven by SMA triple wires. The fuzzy proportional-integral-derivative (PID)-controlled actuator drive was designed using antagonistic SMA triple wires, and the resistance feedback signal made a closed loop. Experiments showed that, with the driving responding frequency increasing, the overstress became harder to be avoided at the position under the maximum friction force. Furthermore, the hysteresis gap between the heating and cooling paths of the strain-to-resistance curve expanded under this condition. A fuzzy logic control was considered as a solution, and the curves of the wires were then modeled by fitting polynomials so that the measured resistance was used directly to determine the control signal. Accurate control was demonstrated through the step response, and the experimental results showed that under the fuzzy PID-control program, the mean absolute error (MAE) of the rotation angle was about 3.147°. In addition, the investigation of the external interference to the system proved the controllable maximum output.

Development of anthropomorphic robot hand SKK robot hand I

In this paper, a three-fingered anthropomorphic robot hand, called SKK Robot Hand I, is presented. By employing a two-DOF joint mechanism, called Double Active Universal Joint (abbreviated as DAUJ from now on) as its metacarpal joint, the hand makes it possible to mimic humanlike motions. We begin with addressing the motivation of the design and mention how the anthropomorphic feature of a human is realized in the design of SKK Hand I. Also, the mechanism of the hand is explained in detail, and advantages in its modular design are discussed. The proposed hand is developed for use as a testbed for dextrous manipulation. It is expected to resolve the increasing demand for robotic applications in unstructured environments. We describe its hardware construction as well as the controller structure including the preliminary results of experiments.