Mechanical design methods of improving manipulator performance

Abstract

Presents several examples of how intelligent mechanical design can significantly improve robot manipulator performance. These methods include passive, mechanical, and energy-conservative gravity compensation, remote actuation, and tension-element transmission and speed reduction. A comparison with a conventional arm shows that an arm incorporating these techniques moves faster, handles a larger payload, responds better to external forces, and consumes less energy.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>