On a Mechatronics Approach to Balancing of Robotic Mechanisms : Redundant Servo Motor

Abstract

In this paper, we first clarify the notion of redundancy in general product design concluding three types of redundancy. We then propose a new principle to balancing of mechanisms, which is called redundant servo motor (RSM). The RSM approach stems from the very basic concept of redundancy in system design, recognizes the redundancy of the servomotor in mechanism systems, and makes use of this redundancy to balancing of mechanisms. Since the RSM principle proposed in this paper may look similar to several proposals in the literature, which utilize the servo motor for balancing of mechanisms, this paper provides a critical comparison of the proposed RSM principle with the existing proposals. This comparison further enhances the promise of the proposed RSM principle and unifies the theory of redundancy for robotic mechanism design especially for dynamic balancing.